Author: Ohio Center for the Book

Isaac Mayer Wise

Isaac Mayer Wise

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, …

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Karen Harper

Born: 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 …

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Percy Hammond

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 …

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Russel Crouse

Born: 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 …

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