Ohio - #17, March 1, 1803

 

We have arrived at the seventeenth state to join the Union, the Buckeye State, Ohio.  You will note in the picture above the unique shape of the flag of Ohio. It is the only one of the 50 states flags that is not rectangular.  In fact, it is not known as a flag at all, its official definition is a burgee.  The name "Ohio" is an Iroquois word meaning "good river."  It may be noted that while the Ohio River borders the state - the river itself is "owned" by Kentucky and West Virginia.

Ohio is the first state admitted to the Union that was part of the Northwest Territory (which comprised what would become six different states - go ahead name them) under the Northwest Ordinance.  While it was granted statehood in 1803 - it was learned in 1953 that Congress never passed a resolution admitting the state.  A resolution was proposed by Ohio Congressman George Bender granting retroactive statehood.  President Eisenhower signed the resolution during the 150th anniversary of Ohio's admission.

Ohio is very popular for tourism.  The Football Hall of Fame is found in the state, in Canton.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, and Brave Astronaut does have a thing for roller coasters so this place is certainly on my bucket list.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the State of Ohio has produced a good number of Presidents (it is also known as the Mother of the Presidency).  The Presidents noted below were all born in Ohio.  William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, but spent most of his life in Ohio and is also buried there.

1. James A. Garfield 
2. Ulysses S. Grant 
3. Warren Harding 
4. Rutherford B. Hayes 
5. Benjamin Harrison 
6. William McKinley 
7. William Howard Taft  

 Unfortunately three of them died in office.

The current Governor of Ohio is former Republican Congressman John Kasich.  Ohio's Senators are Sherrod Brown, a Democrat and Rob Portman, a Republican.  Portman is rumored to be on the short list to be Mitt Romney's choice as the vice presidential nominee. The Ohio Congressional delegation contains eighteen members, 5 Democrats and 13 Republicans, including the current Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

• 1st District - Steve Chabot (R)
• 2nd District - Jean Schmidt (R)
• 3rd District - Michael Turner (R)
• 4th District - Jim Jordan (R)
• 5th District - Bob Latta (R)
• 6th District - Bill Johnson (R)
• 7th District - Steve Austria (R)
• 8th District - John Boehner (R)
• 9th District - Marcy Kaptur (D)
• 10th District - Dennis J. Kucinich (D) - Congressman Kucinich was redistricted out of a job earlier this year and will retire at the end of the current Congress.
• 11th District - Marcia Fudge (D)
• 12th District - Pat Tiberi (R)
• 13th District - Betty Sutton (D)
• 14th District - Steven LaTourette (R)
• 15th District - Steve Stivers (R)
• 16th District - Jim Renacci (R)
• 17th District - Tim Ryan (D)
• 18th District - Bob Gibbs (R)

Facts

• State Capital and Largest City - Columbus
• Date of Admission - March 1, 1803
• Area - 44,825 sq mi (34th)
• State Motto - "With God, all things are possible"
• State Nickname - the Buckeye State
• State bird - cardinal
• State flower - scarlet carnation
• State tree - Ohio buckeye
• State University (land grant) - Ohio State University
• (I'm not getting in trouble with Amy in Ohio over this one.  OU is also a "state" school as are the University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, Central State University, University of Cincinnati, Cleveland State University, Kent State University (which was the site of deadly shootings during the Vietnam War), Miami University (which is also the obscure answer to this trivia question), Shawnee State University, University of Toledo, Wright State University, and Youngstown State University
• State Archives - part of the Ohio Historical Society
• Population (2011 est.) - 11,544,951 (7th)

Links

• ohio.gov - the Official Website of the State of Ohio
• The Ohio Tourism site - Discover Ohio
• The Encyclopedia Britannic entry for Ohio
• Wikpedia
• 50states.com entry for Ohio
• InfoPlease entry for Ohio
• State of Ohio wiki
• Fact Sheet on Ohio from the USDA

Prominent Ohioans or "Buckeyes" (here's a few lists to peruse, one and two)

• Well of course there's Amy from Ohio
• Astronauts Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and John Glenn
• Journalist Ambrose Bierce
• Erma Bombeck - humorist and columnist
• William Jennings Bryan - politician, "You will not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!"
• Poor Indian Fighter George Armstrong Custer
• Doris Day - singer
• Clarence Darrow - lawyer who tangled most famously with Bryan in the Scopes Monkey Trial
• Ruby Dee - actress
• The Wizard of Menlo Park (NJ), Thomas Edison, was from Ohio
• Harvey Firestone
• Hollywood icons Clark Gable and Tyrone Power
• The first Commissioner of baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis
• Maya Lin - creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (among many)
• Rat Pack founding member Dean Martin
• Toni Morrison - author and Nobel Prize Winner
• The Neikro brothers (Joe and Phil)
• Paul Newman
• Golfer Jack Nicklaus
• Annie Oakley
• Positive Thinker Norman Vincent Peale
• John D. Rockefeller - you knew he had to be on this list although born in New York - Jr. was born in Ohio, though
• Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
• Civil War General Philip Sheridan
• Civil War General (and scourge of the South) William T. Sherman
• Stephen Spielberg
• Gloria Steinem
• For all my Library friends, William Strunk, Jr.
• The Robert Taft(s)
• Lowell Thomas
• Victoria Woodhull - the first woman to run for President
• The Wright Brothers (that's why the license plate says "Birthplace of Aviation")
• Cy Young - the pitcher for whom the award is named