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The INTERNATIONAL ASSN. OF MACHINISTS AND AEROSPACE WORKERS began in 1888 in Atlanta, GA. The Cleveland IAM was first chartered in Jan. 1890 as Lodge 83, which organized machinists who worked in local shops.

The INTERNATIONAL LADIES GARMENT WORKERS UNION (ILGWU) struggled to gain a foothold in Cleveland during the first 2 decades of the 20th century. Toward the end of the 19th century, poor working conditions and low wages caused some workers to form small seasonal unions, such as the Cleveland Pressers' Protective Union of 1899.

The INTERNATIONAL LADIES' GARMENT WORKERS' UNION AGREEMENT OF 1918-19 laid the basis for collective bargaining in the Cleveland cloak and suit trade. Agitation for the agreement began a few years after an unsuccessful strike in 1911. This general strike caused Cleveland manufacturing firms to grant certain concessions to their employees.

The INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT GROUP (IMG), credited with being pioneers in the development of modern sports agentry, began in 1960 when Cleveland lawyer and amateur golfer Mark H. McCormack represented professional golfer Arnold Palmer as his agent in business and promotional affairs.

INTERNATIONAL SALT CO. See AKZO SALT, INC.

The INTERNATIONAL SERVICES CENTER, formerly Nationalities Services Center, a nonprofit organization serving Cleveland's immigrant community, was created in 1954 by the consolidation of the Citizens' Bureau and the Intl. Institute of the YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSN. (YWCA).

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN. See ACHIEVEMENT CENTER FOR CHILDREN.

INTERNATIONAL STEEL GROUP (ISG). See MITTAL STEEL USA.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S YEAR, GREATER CLEVELAND CONGRESS, held 25-27 Oct. 1975 at the PUBLIC AUDITORIUM, attracted 45,000-50,000 people. The congress was organized in response to the U.N. General Assembly proclamation designating 1975 as Intl.

INTERURBANS. Early in the 20th century, Ohio became the heartland of the electric interurban railway, and Cleveland emerged as one of its foremost centers. Interurbans most heavily served the areas skirting the shores of Lake Erie.

The INTOWN CLUB, 1375 Euclid Ave., a private invitational ladies' luncheon club that meets for relaxation, fellowship, and enjoyment of the arts, was incorporated on 1 Nov. 1927. Mrs. John S. Sherwin was the president when the club officially opened on 20 Jan. 1928 in clubrooms located at 3400 Euclid Ave.

INVACARE CORPORATION began in Elyria, Ohio, in 1889 as the Worthington Company that focused on manufacturing and selling wheelchairs. The company changed its name to the Colson Company following a merger with a manufacturer of rubber-tired wheels and became a major supplier of bicycles with wheelchairs becoming a secondary product.  Colson moved from Elyria in 1952.

IOSUE, MADELINE A. DESANTIS (10 Sep. 1926 - 14 Feb. 1999) became president of the C. DeSantis Paint Manufacturing Co. after joining the family company as a secretary in 1946. Iosue was born in Cleveland to Augusta (Cimoroni) and Columbo DeSantis, who founded the C. DeSantis Paint Manufacturing Co. Iosue graduated from Shaker Heights High School.

The IRELAND FOUNDATION was founded in 1951 in Cleveland by MARGARET ALLEN (Mrs. R. Livingston) IRELAND.

IRISH. Cleveland's Irish population, like that in many other cities, did not reach a significant number until the potato famine immigrations in the late 1840s. Unlike those in many Eastern Seaboard cities, Cleveland's Irish never exerted influence beyond their numbers, though they have been part of the city's diverse ethnic community and activities since the first immigrants from Ireland arrived ca. 1820.

The IRISH AMERICAN CLUB, EAST SIDE, INC., was officially chartered in the state of Ohio on St. Patrick's Day, 17 Mar. 1978. Its purpose is to promote Irish heritage and to sponsor social, cultural, educational, and athletic programs in Cleveland and around the state. The majority of members are of Irish descent or married to Irish. The club purchased and remodeled a building at 22770 Lake Shore Blvd.

The IRISH AMERICAN CLUB, WEST SIDE, INC. (est. 1931) maintains recreational facilities and meeting rooms and sponsors social and cultural events for members of Cleveland's Irish-American community. With 3,300 adult members in 1994, the club was the largest Irish organization in Cuyahoga County.

IRISH NATIONALISM IN CLEVELAND.   Support for the cause of Irish nationhood has flourished in Cleveland, Ohio, for as long as IRISH immigrants have settled in the area.

IRISHTOWN BEND is the area along the CUYAHOGA RIVER—east of W. 25th St., and south and slightly north of Detroit Ave.—where Irish immigrants once lived.

IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY. Location has been Cleveland's potent metallurgical advantage since the mid-19th century, when its situation on Lake Erie at the convergence of numerous railroad lines made it an ideal meeting place for iron ore and coal.

ISHIMAYA, TOARU (1921? - 15 August 2001) was a Japanese American psychologist and professor at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY. His work in psychology and advocacy for Japanese American mental health led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1987, a bill for reparations to victims of WWII internment camps. 

The ISLAMIC CENTER OF CLEVELAND, located at 6055 W. 130 St. in PARMA, serves as both a place of worship and a socio-cultural educational center for the Muslim community of the region.

ISLAMIC RELIGION. In the 1990s Islam was the fastest growing religion in the U.S., with about six million adherents. In the Greater Cleveland area, in 1995 there were between 20-25,000 Muslims, a number nearly double that of ten years earlier. That growth has come both from natural increase in the resident population and also from continued immigration and conversion.

ITALIAN HALL was one of the first buildings in Cleveland to house a theater. Built in the early 1830s on Water (now W. 9th) St., it was one of the few brick buildings in Cleveland, with 3 stories and a theater on the top floor. During the 1830s Italian Hall was the most fashionable theater in Cleveland, the stopping place for famous stars. It was the first theater in Cleveland to feature raked seats.

ITALIANS. Although Italian names can be found in Cleveland city directories from the late 1850s, not until the Civil War did an Italian community begin forming in the city. The 1870 census listed 35 Italians in Cleveland; during the following 50 years, more than 20,000 Italian immigrants came to the city.

The IVAN CANKAR DRAMATIC SOCIETY (Dramsko Drustvo Ivan Cankar) was considered the best-developed Slovenian theater ensemble outside of Europe. It was founded on 6 Feb. 1919 by 36 young immigrants at Birk's Hall on St. Clair Ave. They named their club for the recently deceased Slovenian author and playwright, Ivan Cankar, and purchased scenery, costumes, and scripts from a disbanding ensemble.

J. B. ROBINSON CO., INC., one of the largest retail jewelers in the country, was founded in 1946 by Joseph B. Robinson as a wholesale diamond operation located on the 8th floor of the Schofield Bldg. on E. 9th St. After Robinson's death in 1959, his son, Lawrence, changed the company to a retail jewelry firm, specializing in diamonds and watches with $200,000 in annual business.

J. L. GOODMAN FURNITURE CO. was founded in 1886 by Jacob L. Goodman, who opened his store at Broadway and Harvard avenues in Newburgh. Featuring such items as brass beds and silk-trimmed mohair couches, the company prospered over the years by keeping up with changes in furniture styles and offering fair prices. Jacob's son Julius took over the store when his father died in 1919.

The J. SPANG BAKING CO., a family-owned retail bakery that operated for 70 years, was established by German immigrant Julius Spang, who learned the baking trade in Germany, where he was born in 1852. He and his family came to the U.S. in 1882, and after settling in Cleveland, Spang opened a small bake shop on Barber Ave. in 1888. The J. Spang Baking Co.

JACK & HEINTZ. See LEAR SIEGLER, INC., POWER EQUIPMENT DIVISION.

JACKSON JR, BENJAMIN CLARENCE BULL MOOSE (22 April 1919 - 31 July 1989), was a prominent African-American blues singer and saxophone player whose musical career boomed in the 1940’s. 

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The JACOB GOLDSMITH HOUSE, which formerly stood at 2200 E. 40th St., was built on a scale comparable to that of the mansions that once lined EUCLID AVE. The building has been attributed to CUDELL & RICHARDSON, architects.

In JACOBELLIS V. OHIO, decided on 22 June 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed its right to independently determine whether a particular work is obscene and therefore not entitled to the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression.

JACOBS FIELD  See PROGRESSIVE FIELD

JACOBS, RICHARD E.  “Dick” Jacobs (16 June 1925-5 June 2009) was a successful real estate developer and the owner of the CLEVELAND INDIANS from 1986 to 1999