Born: May 31, 1898 Died: December 24, 1993 Ohio connection: Birth Bowersville A staunch practitioner of positive thinking and prayer, Norman Vincent Peale utilized mass media to share with hundreds of people his message of faith and hope. A stirring, dynamic, and innovative speaker who increased church attendance at numerous congregations, Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio, …
Read More Peale, Norman VincentBorn: December 13, 1911 Died: January 8, 1972 Ohio connection: Birth Niles Kenneth Patchen, son of Wayne and Eva Patchen, was born in 1911 in Niles, Ohio. He was active in sports and writing during his school years. After graduation, he worked in a steel mill and then attended the University of Wisconsin, 1928-29. From 1930 until …
Read More Patchen, KennethBorn: November 14, 1947Died: February 15, 2022 Ohio connection: Birth Toledo Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, journalist and satirist Patrick Jake “P.J.” O’Rourke was the son of Clifford and Delphine (née Loy) O’Rourke. After receiving his undergraduate degree in 1969 from Miami University of Ohio, O’Rourke earned an M.A. in English in 1970 from Johns …
Read More P. J. O’Rourke (Patrick Jake)Born: 1955 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Susan Orlean is the daughter of Arthur and Edith Gross Orlean. In 1976, she obtained her B.A. from the University of Michigan. From 1983-1986, she was a staff writer for the Boston Phoenix. After a year spent with The Boston Globe as a columnist, she has been, since 1987, an editor for Rolling Stone …
Read More Susan OrleanBorn: 1954 Ohio connection: Resident Delaware Accomplished writer and professor, Robert M. Olmstead is the son of James Paul (a factory worker) and Adeline Olmstead. He was raised on a six generation dairy farm near Keene, New Hampshire not far from the banks of the Connecticut River. He has authored the novels America by Land, A Trail of Heart’s …
Read More Robert OlmsteadBorn: September 10, 1935Died: January 17, 2019 Ohio connection: Birth Maple Heights Mary Oliver, daughter of Edward William and Helen M. (Vlasak) Oliver, was born in 1935 in the Maple Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of thirteen, Oliver had a great desire to be a writer. In 1950, when she was fifteen, she visited …
Read More Mary OliverBorn: September 20, 1899 Dead: August 9, 1980 Ohio connection: Birth Dover Elliott John Nugent was born in 1899 in Dover, Ohio. He was the son of playwright/producer/actor, John C. Nugent, and Grace Mary (Fertig) Nugent. At the age of four, he began a long career in film, theater, and television. He first appeared in vaudeville …
Read More Nugent, Elliott JohnBorn: February 17, 1912Died: March 17, 2005 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Andre Norton was born Alice May Norton on February 17, 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Freely Norton, a rug salesman, and Bertha Stemm Norton. She attended Collinwood High School where she wrote for the school newspaper. Intending to become a history teacher, she attended Western Reserve …
Read More Andre NortonBorn: 1946 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Dr. Marilyn Nelson, daughter of Melvin M. Nelson, (U.S.A.F. airman) and Johnnie Mitchell Nelson (teacher) was born in Cleveland. Nelson began writing in childhood. She earned her B.A. from the University of California, Davis, and holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., 1970) and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., …
Read More Nelson, MarilynBorn: August 20, 1833 Died: February 15, 1888 Ohio connection: Birth Toledo Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby was born David Ross Locke in 1833 in Vestal, New York. His family later moved to the village of Marathon, where he left school after completing grades 1-5. In 1845, at the age of twelve, David was hired by the Cortland …
Read More Nasby, Petroleum Vesuvius