John Leonard Swigert Jr. was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of Apollo 13, he became one of 24 astronauts who flew to the Moon. Ironically, due to the "slingshot" route around the Moon they chose to safely return to Earth, the Apollo 13 astronauts flew farther away from Earth than any other astronauts before or since, though they had to abort the Moon landing.
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. is an American aerospace engineer, retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and fighter pilot, and former NASA astronaut, in which capacity he became the first African American to go to space. While assigned to NASA, he remained a USAF officer rising to the rank of colonel. He participated in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a member of the crew of the Orbiter Challenger on the mission STS-8, he became the first African American in space as well as the second black person in space, after Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.
Paul R. Leonard is an American politician who is a member of the Ohio Democratic Party. He served as the mayor of Dayton from 1982 to 1986 and as the 58th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1987 to 1991.
James Howell McGee was an American politician of the Ohio Democratic party. He served as the first black mayor of Dayton, Ohio. He was also the city’s longest-tenured mayor to date.
Dave Hall was an American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, from 1966 to 1970.
Edythe M. "Delilah" Lewis was the first black, female disc jockey in Dayton, Ohio, United States, in the 1950s.
Don L. Crawford was an American politician of the Democratic party, who was the first African-American person to serve as a city commissioner of Dayton, Ohio. He served on the commission from 1962 to 1967. While presenting a key to the city to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964, Crawford remarked that the key would not actually open many parts of the city to him, angering the other city commissioners.
The Dayton Marcos were a Negro league baseball team based from Dayton, Ohio that played during the early twentieth century.
Robert Eugene Ferguson was an American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he won the Maxwell Award in 1961. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
David E. Raimey is a former American football player.
Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley was an American United States Army officer. She was the first African-American woman to be an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and was the commanding officer of the first battalion of African-American women to serve overseas during World War II. Adams was the highest-ranking African-American woman in the army by the completion of the war. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion's motto was "No Mail, Low Morale." A monument honoring this unique group of women was dedicated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on November 30, 2018.
Rudolph M. Clay Sr. was an American activist and politician who was active in Indiana politics as a member of the Democratic Party. Clay was first active in politics with his election to the Indiana Senate from the 3rd district, then served in local politics in Lake County, Indiana, and served as the 19th Mayor of Gary, Indiana. He was the first black person elected to the state senate from Lake County and the first black person elected countywide in Lake County.
A special election to the United States House of Representatives for Ohio's 8th congressional district was held to determine the successor to John Boehner, who resigned his seat on October 31, 2015. Republican Governor of Ohio John Kasich set the primary election for March 15, 2016, and the general election for June 7. The winner of the June special election ran for reelection in November 2016 but served the remainder of Boehner's 13th two-year term, which ended in early January 2017.
The 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Ohio, concurrently with the election of Ohio's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various Ohio and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor John Kasich was term-limited and could not seek re-election for a third consecutive term.
Samuel C. Park was an American businessman and politician from Utah. A Republican, he served in the Utah State Senate from 1905 to 1909 and on the Salt Lake City School Board from 1909 to 1912. Park served as Mayor of Salt Lake City from 1912 to 1916.
Albert Fitzpatrick, also known as Al Fitzpatrick, is a journalist and media executive for the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, United States, where he was the only African American working for the company. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Lima Steele's were a professional softball team based in Lima, Ohio. Lima Steele's played at the baseball diamond on the campus of the Ohio State University at Lima in the United Professional Softball League (UPSL) in 1982.
John Eldridge Bruce was an American lawyer, politician, and civil servant. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives and mayor of College Hill, Ohio. Bruce became the personal attorney to Ban Johnson, the president of the American League, and Bruce served as the secretary of the National Baseball Commission from 1903 to 1920.
Jeff Mims, born on January 27, 1947, is an American politician who became the 57th mayor of Dayton, Ohio in 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected as mayor on November 2, 2021, after he served on the city commission for two terms.
Derrick Lee Foward is an American social activist and leader in the US civil rights movement. He is the 34th President of the Dayton Unit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is the youngest person to lead the local organization. Foward was first elected president on November 12, 2006, defeating Gladys Gunn, longtime educator in the Dayton Public Schools District, receiving 53.09% of the votes. His first 2-year term commenced on January 1, 2007, and expired on December 31, 2008. Foward ran unopposed in 2008. He ran for re-election in 2010 and defeated Chris Cortner, retired General Motors Worker, receiving 75.57% of the votes. Foward ran unopposed in the Dayton Unit NAACP elections in the years of 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. He is currently in his eighth 2-year term which expires on December 31, 2024. Foward also served in the following leadership roles within the Ohio Conference NAACP: 1st Vice President ; 2nd Vice President ; 3rd Vice President ; and Executive Committee Member. Foward also serves on the NAACP National Life Membership Committee and has served as the Chair of the NAACP National Credentials Committee for many years.
