Born: March 29, 1819Died: March 26, 1900 Ohio connection: Resident Cincinnati American Reform rabbi, author, and editor, Isaac Mayer Wise was born in Steingrub, Bohemia (now Lomnička, Czech Republic) in 1819, the son of Leo Weiss, a school teacher, and Regina Weiss. He was a prominent and influential rabbi in 19th-century America. A brilliant student, …
Read More Isaac Mayer WiseBorn: April 6, 1945Died: April 13, 2020 Ohio connection: Birth Toledo Karen S. Harper was born in Toledo, the daughter of Robert A. (an engineer and draftsman) and Margaret (a teacher) Kurtz. Harper was raised in Toledo and graduated from DeVilbiss High School in 1963. After graduating from Ohio University in 1967, Harper was awarded …
Read More Karen Harper
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! Although everyone’s a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, numerous authentic Irish-American authors have called Ohio home! Here are just a tiny sample of authors with Irish heritage for you to explore. Click the links to find out more about each of them. George Condon (former resident, Lakewood; …
Read More Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh!Born: March 7, 1873Died: April 25, 1936 Ohio connection: Birth Cadiz Prominent drama critic and journalist, Percy Hunter Hammond was born in Cadiz, Ohio. Although his father was Cadiz’s leading merchant, at thirteen, Percy Hammond felt irrepressibly drawn towards newspaper journalism, and worked as a “printer’s devil” for his uncle’s newspaper, the Cadiz Republican. In …
Read More Percy HammondBorn: March 13, 1947Died: October 17, 2005 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland David Citino was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School and went on to received his B.A. from Ohio University in 1969, an M.A. from The Ohio State University (OSU) in 1972, and a Ph.D. from OSU in 1974. In …
Read More David CitinoBorn: February 20, 1893Died: April 3, 1966 Ohio connection: Birth Findlay Russel M. Crouse was born in Findlay, Ohio, on February 20, 1893, the son of a newspaper publisher. Well-known for his sharp wit and outrageous puns, Crouse worked for nearly 20 years as a reporter for newspapers in Kansas City, Cincinnati, and New York. For five …
Read More Russel CrouseBorn: March 4, 1869 Died: May 24, 1934 Ohio connection: Birth Urbana Brand Whitlock, journalist, politician, writer, and diplomat, was born in 1869 in Urbana, Ohio, to the Reverend Elias and Molly Lavinia (Brand) Whitlock. He was first educated at home and later at a public high school in Toledo, Ohio, where the family moved …
Read More Brand Whitlock
Women’s History Month provides Ohioans with a chance to either revisit or to learn about all the exciting and important writers, poets, playwrights, essayists, and important female literary figures that were born in Ohio or have called Ohio home. In fact, a number of Ohio women were first in their fields! And before you say, …
Read More Celebrate Women’s History Month in OhioBorn: March 26, 1936 Died: November 23, 2000 Ohio connection: Resident Huntsburg Author, editor, poet, educator, and educational software designer, Eugene Hale Chatfield was born March 26, 1936, in Passaic, New Jersey. He graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Caldwell, New Jersey, and received a B.A. degree in 1957 from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and an …
Read More Hale ChatfieldBorn: February 19, 1902Died: December 27, 1992 Ohio connection: Resident Cincinnati Kay Boyle was a writer, educator, and political activist. She was twice awarded Guggenheim fellowships and won the O. Henry Award for best short story of the year (“The White Horses of Vienna”) in 1935 and again (“Defeat”) in 1941. Boyle held a number …
Read More Kay Boyle