(Akron – Columbus)Below are listed some of the famous firsts for Ohio cities.  To see more famous Ohio firsts visit your public library and ask for the book Famous First Facts:  A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History, 5^th ed. by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell.  Warning:  this book can be addictive and is usually found in the reference section, so it cannot be checked out of the library!

Items below are partial or paraphrased.  Each item is followed by parentheses with item number from book (bold) and page number in book (italics) so you can read the full entry if desired.

AKRON

Airship with an enclosed cabin was a 51,000-cubic-foot nonrigid dirigible call Pilgrim built by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. (1522, 46)

Glider pilot’s license issued by the National Aeronautic Assocation went to Leonard A. Wiggins of Akron, Ohio on October 7, 1930. (1598, 53)

Police patrol wagon was used by the Akron Police Department in June 1899 and was designed by Frank Fowler Loomis of Akron (4137, 276)

Synthetic rubber tires were commercially marketed by B.F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio on June 5, 1940. (5502, 388)

Tubeless car tires were manufactured by B.F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio on May 11, 1947. (5503, 388)

ALLIANCE

College summer school was established in June 1870 at Mount Union College. (2993, 178)

ASHTABULA

Election using proportional representation was held in Ashtabula, Ohio on November 2, 1915 to elect seven council members. (3321, 205)

ATHENS

Land grant university was Ohio University charter on February 14, 1804.  The university opened on June 1, 1808 with three students. (2940, 173)

BARBERTON

First matchbooks were manufactured in 1896 at the Diamond Match Company at the Barberton, Ohio factory. (4337, 291)

BELLEFONTAINE

Concrete road was built in 1892 in Bellefontaine, Ohio on the west side of Main Street. (6622, 488)

CANTON

First football game in which referees were allowed to check television instant replays was on July 29, 1978. It was the Hall of Fame game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins. (7336, 557)

Professional football association was the American Professional Football Association formed on September 17, 1920. (7305, 554)

CHILLICOTHE

Book completed entirely by one man was Old Papermaking by by Dr. Dard Hunter who was not only the author, but manufactured the paper, designed the book, cut and cast the type and printed and bound the sheets. (1754, 67)

Cattle that were purebred shorthorns were imported in 1833 by the Ohio Company for Importing English Cattle formed in Chillicothe, Ohio. (1080, 6)

CINCINNATI (just a few as there are many)

Ambulance service for hospitals was introduced in Cincinnati by Commercial Hospital (now University Hospital) in 1865.  (4823, 331)

Baseball game at night by major league teams was played at Crosley Field on May 24, 1934 between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. (7131, 538)

Fire department to be paid a salary was established by Cincinnati, Ohio in 1853.  (4103, 273)

High school night classes for boys opened in Cincinnati in November 1840.  Evening classes for girls opened in 1855. (3082, 186)

Radio license granted to an individual was granted in 1911 to George Hill Lewis of Cincinnati, Ohio. (6293, 457)

Tuberculosis hospital for the poor established by a city was the Branch Hospital of Cincinnati Hospital, which opened in Cincinnati on July 8, 1897 with 20 beds.  The hospital later changed its name to Hamilton County Tuberculosis Hospital. (4900, 337)

CLEVELAND (just a few as there are many)

Airplane flight over water was made by Glenn Hammond Curtiss on August 31, 1910.  He flew from Euclid Beach Park, Cleveland, Ohio to Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, crossing Lake Erie. (1432, 37)

Electric traffic signal lights were installed on August 5, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105^th Street. (4224, 283)

Ice cream cone rolling machine was invented in Cleveland, Ohio by Carl Rutherford Taylor who obtained a patent on the machine on January 29, 1924. (3868, 254)

Kindergarten for children with disabilities was opened in Cleveland, Ohio in 1900 at the Alta Settlement House. (3018, 180)

Mayor of a major city who was African-American was Carl Burton Stokes elected by the citizens of Cleveland on November 7, 1967. (2209, 107)

Unassisted triple play in a World Series baseball game was made by the Cleveland Indian’s second baseman, William Adolph Wambsganss in the fifth game of the 1920 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Brooklyn Dodgers. (7127, 538)

CLYDE

First navy officer killed in action in the Spanish-American War was Ensign Worth Bagley of the torpedo ship, U.S.S. Winslow.  Ensign Bagley was killed on May 11, 1898. (8008, 616)

COLUMBUS

Junior high school was the Indianola Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio.  The school opened on September 7, 1909. (3087, 186)

Metric distance markers on a state highway were put up on Interstate 71 by the Ohio Department of Transportation in 1973. Signs showed distance in both miles and kilometers. (6636, 489)

Presidential candidate to make a campaign speech was made in 1840 when William Henry Harrison, who spoke on June 6, 1840 from the steps of the National Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. (3402, 213)

State School for blind students was the Ohio Institution for the Blind opened on July 4, 1837.  The school was held in the Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio and had five pupils when it opened. (3024, 181)

---

compiled from:  Famous First Facts: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries and Inventions in American History, 5th edition by Joseph Nathan Kane, Steven Anzovin, and Janet Podell.

M. Holmes

Mason Public Library

1/26/03