Born: 1962 Ohio connection: Resident Cleveland Rick Porrello is a veteran Cleveland-area police officer who grew up in a family with Mafia roots. His grandfather and three of his uncles were mob leaders who were killed during Prohibition-era violence. His popular book, The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia (1995), grew out of research on his family. …
Read More Rick PorrelloBorn: 1966 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Dav Pilkey, son of David M. and Barbara (Pembridge) Pilkey, was born in 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was considered to be a “class clown” during his years at parochial schools in Elyria, Ohio. He also struggled with attention deficit disorder, and had numerous difficulties with teachers. It wasn`t until …
Read More Dav PilkeyBorn: January 2, 1900Died: May 10, 1980 Ohio connection: Birth Delphos Leslie Copus Peltier, son of Stanley William and Resa (Copus) Peltier, was born in 1900 in Delphos, Ohio. Growing up on a farm in the country, he quickly developed a great love for nature. His mother introduced him to the wonders of the night sky by …
Read More Leslie Copus PeltierBorn: 1966 Ohio connection: Birth Silver Lake A native Ohioan, Shelley Pearsall has enjoyed writing and history since childhood. Before publishing, she was a public school teacher and a museum historian. In her spare time, she wrote historical scripts and short stories for Cleveland-area museums. Shelley Pearsall’s work and writing often has been influenced by her love …
Read More Shelley PearsallBorn: 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 Oliver