Ohio, Home of Many Well Knowns
Not so much a state of extremes, as a solid, predictable place built on the pioneer principles of hard work and family values. But when it comes to the state’s luminaries, there is nothing predictable or ordinary. Ohio’s famous sons and daughters range from movie stars to aviators, from presidents to titans of industry, and Ohio has sites to celebrate each and every one. I’m going to cover some facts about Ohio that you may not know.
In 1803, Ohio was admitted to the Union as the 17th state. Ohio’s official flag was adopted by an act of the Ohio Legislature on May 9, 1902. The Ohio burgee, as the swallow-tailed design is properly called, was drawn by John Eisenmann, architect and designer for the Ohio State Pan-American Exposition Commission. The Ohio flag has three red and two white horizontal stripes. At its staff end, in a blue triangular field whose apex is at the center of the middle red stripe, are 17 white, five-pointed stars grouped around a red disc superimposed upon a white circular O.
More of our country’s presidents came from Ohio than from any other state. Eight American presidents were elected from the Buckeye State, earning Ohio the nickname The Mother of Presidents.
William Henry Harrison
9th President (1841 – died in office) – Whig Party
Birthplace: Berkeley Plantation, Virginia – Lived in North Bend, Ohio when elected president.
Ulysses S. Grant
18th President (1869-1877) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Point Pleasant, Ohio
Rutherford B. Hayes
19th President (1877-1881) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Delaware, Ohio
James A. Garfield
20th President (1881 – died in office) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Orange, Ohio
Benjamin Harrison
23rd President (1889-1893) – Republican Party
Birthplace: North Bend, Ohio
William McKinley
25th President (1897-1901 – died in office, second term) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Niles, Ohio
William H. Taft
27th President (1909-1913) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Warren G. Harding
29th President (1921-1923 – died in office) – Republican Party
Birthplace: Corsica, Ohio (now Blooming Grove)
Inventors from Ohio:
Henry Timken of Canton developed the roller bearing in 1898.
John Lambert of Ohio City made America’s first automobile in 1891.
Charles Kettering of Loudonville invented the first automobile self-starter in 1911.
Garrett Morgan of Cleveland invented the first traffic light in 1923.
James Ritty of Dayton developed the first cash register in 1878
Roy J. Plunkett of New Carlisle invented Teflon in 1938
W. F. Semple of Mount Vernon patented chewing gum in 1869.
I know everyone has heard of the Wright Brothers they were a pair of bicycle shop owners from Dayton, were the first in flight in 1903.
Neil Armstrong of Wapakoneta became the first man to walk on the moon, On July 20, 1969
John Glenn from New Concord was the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. In 1998, at age 77, he became the oldest American to travel into space.
And NASA Space Shuttle astronaut Judith Resnick was born in Akron.
Jesse Owens African-American track star, who won four gold medals during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, grew up in Cleveland and graduated from The Ohio State University.
Actors Drew Carey, Paul Newman, Debra Winger and Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry all hail from Cleveland.
Actor Luke Perry is from Fredericktown, Ohio.
Film director Steven Spielberg, Roy Rogers who was known as the “King of the Cowboys” during his long career as a folksy singing hero of movies and TV, Pete Rose, one of the greatest professional baseball players in the history of the game and Martin Sheen prolific performer on TV and in feature films since the late 1960s named at birth Ramon Estevez were all born in Cincinnati.
A fact no Ohioan would brag about is Charles Manson who convinced followers to go on a murderous spree in 1969, during which they killed seven people known as Helter Skelter was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Legendary comedians Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller are from Ohio.
Nancy Lopez and Jack Nicklaus, two of the world’s finest professional golfers, are both from Ohio.
Doris Day, Clark Gable, Lillian Gish, Dean Martin and Hal Holbrook are all famous movie actors who were born in Ohio.
Annie Oakley, a world champion sharpshooter, who traveled with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, was born in Darke County in 1860.
President Bush’s Grandfather Prescott Bush was Born in Columbus, Ohio; so was Rapper Lil’ Bow Wow and Author R.L Stine.
So as you can see Ohio is not only known for The Ohio State Buckeyes. Many intelligent talented people have come from Ohio, and you can bet many more are heading straight for stardom.
