Cleveland History Timeline

Events 1 - 100 of 208

• 1796-07-22 Cleveland, Ohio, founded by General Moses Cleaveland. Originally called 'Cleaveland', the public adopted the current name after a newspaper editor noticed the name was too long to fit on the page.
• 1843-06-01 It snows in Buffalo and Rochester, NY, & Cleveland, Ohio
• 1848-09-06 National Black Convention meets in Cleveland

• 1853-10-06 4th National Women's Rights Convention opens in Cleveland Ohio
• 1854-08-24 National emigration convention meets in Cleveland
• 1869-06-02 Cleveland's Forest City play their 1st baseball game, against the Cincinnati Red Stockings
• 1869-11-24 American Woman's Suffrage Association forms (Cleveland)
• 1874-11-18 National Woman's Christian Temperance Union organizes in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1877-10-09 American Humane Association organizes (Cleveland)
• 1878-11-01 Edward Scripps & John Sweeney found Penny Press (Cleveland Press)
• 1879-05-30 92°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in May
• 1880-06-12 Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws first perfect game in MLB history in 1-0 win over Cleveland Blues at the Agricultural County Fair Grounds, Worcester

• 1883-09-13 Hugh Daily, a one-armed pitcher for Cleveland (Forest City), tosses 1-0 no-hitter against Philadelphia
• 1884-06-24 The East Cleveland Street Railway Company begins the first U.S. commercial electric streetcar line in Cleveland, Ohio, on the Bentley-Knight system

• 1885-03-04 Grover Cleveland inaugrated as 1st US Democratic President since Civil War
• 1886-02-09 US President Grover Cleveland declares a state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence

• 1888-06-05 US Democrats nominate Grover Cleveland for president

• 1889-02-22 US President Cleveland signs bill to admit Dakotas, Montana & Washington state to the union

• 1891-05-01 Legendary pitcher Cy Young wins first game played at Cleveland's League Park; Cleveland Spiders 12, Cincinnati Redlegs 3
• 1892-11-08 Grover Cleveland (D) elected 24th US President
• 1893-01-04 US President Cleveland grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy
• 1893-03-04 Grover Cleveland (D) inaugrated as 24th US President (2nd term)
• 1893-04-05 Cleveland passes Park Act (forerunner of Metroparks)
• 1893-04-26 1st Cleveland Board of Park Commissioners forms
• 1894-07-06 Cleveland sends 2,000 troops to Chicago to suppress Pullman strike
• 1897-03-09 MLB Cleveland Spiders sign Louis Sockalexis, full-blooded Penobscot
• 1900-03-08 NL decides to go with 8 teams They exclude Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville & Washington (in 1953 Boston Braves move to Milwaukee)

• 1900-04-26 Newly renamed American League opener in Cleveland draws 6,500 (still as a minor league, was Western League)
• 1901-04-28 Cleveland's Bock Baker gives up a record 23 singles as White Sox beat Blues (Cleveland Blues!) 13-1
• 1901-05-09 Cleveland's Earl Moore no-hits Chicago White Sox 9 inn but loses in 10th 4-2
• 1902-04-25 Erwin Harvey becomes 1st Cleveland ballplayer (Cleveland Bronchos) to have six hits in one game
• 1902-06-30 Cleveland is 1st AL team to hit 3 consecutive HRs in same inning
• 1903-03-10 Harry Gammeter of Cleveland patents multigraph duplicating machine
• 1903-09-17 Boston Pilgrims clinch AL pennant, beating Cleveland, 14-3
• 1905-09-20 Cleveland makes AL record 7 errors in an inning
• 1906-07-28 Yankees turn triple-play, beat Cleveland 6-4

• 1908-09-24 Robert B Rhoads becomes 1st Cleveland pitcher (Cleveland Naps) to toss a no-hit game, Cleveland 2, Boston 1
• 1909-02-18 Boston Red Sox trade Cy Young, at 41, to Cleveland Naps
• 1909-06-07 Cleveland Industrial Exposition opens
• 1909-07-19 Cleveland shortstop Neal Ball completes the first modern MLB unassisted triple play in the Indians' 6-1 win over the Boston Red Sox
• 1910-03-24 83°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in March

• 1911-07-24 Cleve's League Park hosts 1st unofficial ML All Star game (benefit game for Addie Joss' family). Cleveland Naps lose to All Stars 5-3
• 1913-03-15 Cleveland establishes 1st small claims court
• 1913-09-10 Cleveland Call & Post forms
• 1914-08-05 1st electric traffic light installed in the USA on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1914-09-27 Cleveland 2nd baseman Nap Lajoie collects his 3,000th hit
• 1915-07-19 The Washington Senators set a MLB record 8 stolen bases in an innings (1st) in 11-4 win v Cleveland
• 1916-06-06 Voters in East Cleveland, Ohio approve women suffrage
• 1916-07-25 Explosion at Lake Erie and Cleveland Waterworks
• 1916-10-02 Pitching in his 3rd start in 5 days, Philadelphia Phillies right hander Grover Cleveland Alexander records his 20th century MLB record 16th shutout of year, a 2-0 win v Boston Braves
• 1917-07-23 Cleveland Metropolitan Park District established in Greater Cleveland, Ohio
• 1917-07-30 Board of Commissioners of Cleveland Metroparks hold their first meeting
• 1917-09-03 Grover Cleveland Alexander pitches complete wins in a doubleheader

• 1918-05-19 Washington's 1st Sunday game, Senators beat Cleveland 1-0 in 18 innings
• 1919-04-07 1st parcel of land is purchased for Cleveland Metroparks
• 1919-08-24 Having pitched into the 9th inning Cleveland's Ray Caldwell is flattened by a bolt of lightning; goes on to record final out for Indians' 2-1 win over Philadelphia A's
• 1921-05-05 1st ranger for Cleveland Metroparks hired
• 1921-07-29 Cleveland's 125th anniversary celebration: Cy Young, aged 54, pitches two innings
• 1922-02-21 WHK-AM in Cleveland, Ohio begins radio transmissions
• 1923-05-17 Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School, South Carolina
• 1924-01-29 Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor, Cleveland
• 1924-06-10 1st political convention broadcast on radio-Republicans at Cleveland
• 1924-09-20 Cub's Grover Cleveland Alexander beats NY Giants to win 300th game
• 1925-04-24 88°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in April
• 1925-06-15 Philadelphia As go into bottom of 8th inning trailing 15-4, then score 13 times to defeat Cleveland 17-15
• 1928-11-06 Clevelanders vote to build a stadium with city bonds
• 1929-05-09 WJW-AM in Cleveland Ohio begins radio transmissions
• 1929-05-15 Fire in X-ray film stock kills 125 at Crile Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
• 1930-01-26 Cleveland's Terminal Tower opens (52 stories)
• 1930-06-03 Grover Cleveland Alexander is released by the Phillies
• 1930-06-24 Ground is broken for construction of Cleveland Stadium, home of MLB Indians, 1932 to 1993, and NFL Browns, 1946-95
• 1930-07-25 Philadelphia Athletics triple steal in 1st and 4th innings vs Cleveland
• 1931-07-01 Cleveland Municipal Stadium (MLB: Indians, NFL: Browns, 78,189 capacity) opens; demolished 1996

• 1931-07-04 1st fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium
• 1931-07-04 1st trailside museum opens in Cleveland Metroparks
• 1931-09-15 Philadelphia A's clinch pennant, beating Cleveland
• 1932-02-11 73°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in February
• 1932-05-16 Yanks 4th straight shutout to equal record set by Cleveland & Boston

• 1933-06-09 Walter Johnson takes over as MLB Cleveland Indians manager
• 1933-11-30 CCC Camps are established in Cleveland Park District

• 1934-12-11 1935 All-Star Game is assigned to Cleveland
• 1935-02-13 1st US surgical operation for relief of angina pectoris, Cleveland
• 1935-08-26 CCC camp opens in Brecksville Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks
• 1938-04-18 Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland
• 1938-12-14 AL permits Cleveland & Philadelphia to play night games
• 1939-12-07 William Walton's Violin Concerto premieres in Cleveland; Ohio, with Jascha Heifetz as soloist and the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Artur Rodziński

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 186

• 1754-01-29 Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland (d. 1806)
• 1838-05-06 Alfred Pease, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1882)
• 1848-03-25 William Keith Brooks, American marine zoologist (anatomy and embryology of marine animals), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1908)
• 1856-09-12 Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1924)
• 1857-05-19 John Jacob Abel, American pharmacologist (endocrine glands), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1938)
• 1858-06-20 Charles W. Chesnutt, American writer (The Conjure Woman), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1932)
• 1869-04-08 Harvey Cushing, American neurosurgeon (blood pressure studies), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1939)
• 1869-10-09 Harry Lawrence Freeman, American opera composer (Epthelia), composer, teacher, and impresario (Freeman Opera Company), known as the 'Black Wagner', born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1954)

• 1874-07-31 Clarence Kolb, American actor and performer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1964)
• 1878-01-17 Oscar Apfel, American actor (The Squaw Man, Inspiration, Before Dawn), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1938)
• 1884-09-06 Emerson Whithorne, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1958)
• 1887-03-18 Frank Moran, American heavyweight boxer and film actor, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1967)
• 1889-04-18 John Kilbane, American featherweight boxer and World Featherweight Champion (1912-23), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1957)
• 1895-04-16 Robert Dean Frisbie, American writer of travel literature (Life on Puka Puka), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1948)
• 1897-01-05 Jack Wagner, American actor (The Razor's Edge, Under Two Flags, Jive Junction), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1965)
• 1897-06-07 George Szell, Hungarian-born American conductor (Cleveland Orchestra, 1946-70), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1970)
• 1897-10-16 Harrison Kerr, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1978)
• 1900-01-23 Ralph Graves, American actor (Dirigible, Extra Girl, Flight, Dream Street), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1977)
• 1900-11-21 Alice Calhoun, American silent film actress (Flowing Gold; Between Friends; Pampered Youth), and movie theater owner, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1966)
• 1901-02-09 Brian Donlevy, American actor (Barbary Coast, Glass Key, Wake Island), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1972)

• 1906-07-08 Philip Johnson, American architect (International and Postmodern Style: 1st Pritzker Prize - 1979), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2005)
• 1906-12-09 Freddy Martin, American orchestra leader (started Merv Griffin) and tenor saxophonist, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1983)
• 1907-02-14 Florence Rice, American actress (Fast Company, Double Wedding, Riding on Air), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1974)

• 1907-11-19 Jack Schaefer, American author (Shane), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1991)
• 1908-11-19 Alan Baxter, American actor (Big Town Girl; Rags to Riches), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1976)
• 1909-05-04 Howard Da Silva [Silverblatt], American actor (1776, The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1986)
• 1910-03-13 Sammy Kaye, American orchestra leader (Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1987)
• 1910-10-11 Eugene John Weigel, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1998)
• 1910-10-26 John Krol, American former archbishop of Philadelphia (1961-88), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996)
• 1911-07-01 Alvino Rey, American orchestra leader (King Family), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2004)
• 1911-09-25 Lionel Henry Nowak, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1995)
• 1912-02-17 Alice "Andre" Norton, American sci-fi author (The Time Traders, The Zero Stone), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2005)
• 1913-02-25 James "Jim" Backus, American actor (Mr Magoo, Rebel Without a Cause, Gilligan's Island), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1989)
• 1913-04-14 John Howard, American actor (The Philadelphia Story, My Three Sons), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1995)
• 1914-05-05 Tyrone Power, American actor (The Mark of Zorro; Nightmare Alley), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1958)
• 1914-07-02 Frederick Fennell, American conductor (Time & Winds), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2004)
• 1916-12-13 Mark Stevens, American actor (Big Town, Martin Kane, Private Eye), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1994)
• 1917-09-02 Cleveland Amory, American animal rights activist and TV reviewer (TV Guide), born in Nahant, Massachusetts (d. 1998)
• 1917-09-13 Robert Ward, American composer (Pantaloon), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2013)
• 1918-06-02 Robert Manry, American copy editor of the Cleveland newspaper editor who sailed the Atlantic (Tinkerbelle), born in Landour, India (d. 1971)
• 1919-05-24 Sid Couchey, American comic book artist (Richie Rich), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2012)
• 1919-12-06 Jimmy Bivins [James], Hall of Fame heavyweight boxer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2012)

• 1920-02-16 Lee Russell, American big band vocalist (Vincent Lopez), missionary and hymn writer, born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1920-10-19 LaWanda Page [Alberta Peal], American actress (Aunt Esther-Sanford & Sons), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2002)
• 1921-03-06 Ross Hunter, American film producer (Airport, Madame X, Pillow Talk), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996) date of birth disputed)
• 1922-03-28 Joey Maxim, American boxer (World Light Heavyweight Champion 1950-52), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2001)
• 1922-08-16 Ernie Freeman, American R&B and pop musician ("Raunchy"), session pianist, arranger, and music director (Reprise Records; Liberty Records), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1981)
• 1922-10-27 Ruby Dee (née Wallace), American Emmy Award-winning stage and screen actress (A Raisin in the Sun; American Gangster), poet, and civil rights activist, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2014)
• 1922-11-09 Dorothy Dandridge, American actress (Porgy & Bess), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1965)
• 1923-06-14 Theodore Bloomfield, American conductor, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1998)
• 1923-07-08 Harrison Dillard, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4×100m relay 1948; 110m hurdles, 4×100m relay 1952), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2019)
• 1924-01-06 Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass banjo player (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), born in Flint Hill, North Carolina (d. 2012)

• 1924-08-21 Jack Weston [Weinstein], American actor (Dirty Dancing, The Four Seasons, Rad), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996)

• 1925-02-17 Hal Holbrook, American stage and screen Tony and Emmy award-winning actor (All the President's Men; “Mark Twain Tonight!”), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2021) [1]
• 1925-02-21 Al Fann, American actor (Alvin-He's the Mayor), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)
• 1925-02-23 Louis Stokes, American politician (Rep-D-OH, 1969-99), born in Cleveland Ohio (d. 2015)
• 1925-05-11 William Glasser, psychiatrist (reality therapy, choice theory), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2013)
• 1925-06-29 Hale Smith, American classical and jazz pianist, arranger, and composer (Toussaint L'Ouverture; Dialogues and Commentaries), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2009)
• 1925-08-13 Benny Bailey, American jazz trumpeter, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2005)
• 1925-10-12 William Steinkraus, American equestrian (Olympic gold 1968, 2 silver 1960, 70, bronze 1952), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2017)
• 1925-11-20 Kaye Ballard, American stage and screen actress, comedienne, (Mothers-in-Law - "Kaye"), and singer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2019)
• 1926-08-24 Nancy Spero, American feminist artist, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2009)
• 1926-09-14 Richard Elsasser, American composer and organist, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1972)
• 1926-09-21 Donald A. Glaser, American physicist (Nobel 1960), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2013)
• 1927-06-21 Carl Burton Stokes, African American politician (51st mayor of Cleveland) and TV newscaster, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996)
• 1928-01-08 Sander Vanocur, American journalist (NBC Weekend News), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2019) [1]
• 1928-03-25 James A. Lovell Jr, American astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1928-11-20 Franklin Cover, American actor (Tom-The Jeffersons), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2006)
• 1929-06-16 James K. Randall, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2014)
• 1929-07-18 (Jalacy) "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, American blues-rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter ("I Put a Spell On You"), and actor, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2000)
• 1930-02-15 Christopher Payne, British police officer (Chief Constable of the Cleveland Constabulary, 1976-90), born in South London, England (d. 2019)
• 1930-10-05 Arlene Saunders [Soszynski], American soprano, 1961-85 (Hamburg Opera; New York Metropolitan Opera), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2020)
• 1930-12-12 Bill Beutel, American journalist and anchor (ABC), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2006)
• 1931-08-20 Don King, American boxing promoter best known for his association with Mike Tyson and for his unusual hairstyles, born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1931-11-07 Gerald Humel, American composer (Universe), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2001)
• 1932-02-23 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2008)

• 1933-02-28 Charles Vinci, American weightlifter (Olympic bantamweight gold 1956, 60), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)
• 1933-05-02 Bunk Gardner [John Guarnera], American saxophone and woodwind player (Mothers Of Invention), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1933-05-23 Gary Burden, American artist and pioneer of album cover art (Neil Young; Graham Nash; The Doors), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)
• 1933-08-04 Nate Brooks, American boxer (Olympic gold flyweight 1952), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1933-12-28 Jack Perkins, newscaster (Prime Time Sunday, NBC Magazine), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1934-05-27 Harlan Ellison, American sci-fi author and screenwriter (Star Trek -"The City on the Edge of Forever"), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)
• 1934-06-16 Bill Cobbs [Wilbert F. Cobbs], American actor (Night at the Museum; The Color of Money; I'll Fly Away; Star Trek: Enterprise), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2024) [1]
• 1934-07-23 Cleve Duncan, American rocker (The Penguins - "Earth Angel"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2012)
• 1934-09-27 Greg Morris, American actor (Mission: Impossible), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996)
• 1935-12-21 Phil Donahue, TV talk show host (The Phil Donahue Show), born in Cleveland, Ohio
• 1935-12-30 Jack Riley, American actor (The Bob Newhart Show - "Mr. Carlin"; Rugrats - "Stu Pickles"), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2016)
• 1936-01-25 Diana Hyland, American actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough), born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio (d. 1977)
• 1936-03-16 Fred Neil [Morlock], American songwriter, folk singer, guitarist (Everybody's Talkin'; Candy Man), and conservationist (Dolphin Project), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2001)
• 1936-04-17 Pete Graves [Alexander Walton], American pop and R&B vocalist (The Moonglows - "Blue Velvet"), born in Jemison, Alabama (d. 2006)
• 1936-05-30 Keir Dullea, actor (2001, 2010, David & Lisa), born in Cleveland, Ohio

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