Central High School (Cleveland, Ohio)

Central High School was a public high school in the Central neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1846, ten years after the city of Cleveland was incorporated.[1] and had several locations during its existence. By the late 1930s, the great majority of all of Cleveland's African American students attended Central. The Central High marching band was legendary, and many notable musicians graduated from Central. When the school celebrated its centennial in 1946, it had graduated over 10,000 pupils. In 1952, Central High School merged with East Technical High.[2]

Boarded up Central High School building
Not to be confused with Cleveland Central High School in Mississippi. For other schools with the same name, see Central High School.

History

It was the first high school in Cleveland and the first free public high school west of the Alleghenies. The school began in a Universalist church basement. After Ohio City was annexed to Cleveland, West High School was established as a division of the school since state law allowed only one public high school in Cleveland.[3]

Alumni
Langston Hughes at Central High
  • Charles Francis Brush, inventor and industrialist[4]
  • Helen Maria Chestnut, among the earliest women of color in American classical education [5]
  • Benjamin O. Davis Jr., first African-American to graduate from West Point since 1889. First African-American brigadier general in the USAF. Promoted to four-star general by President Bill Clinton.[6]
  • Harry Edward Davis, lawyer and Ohio state legislator [7]
  • Russell Howard Davis, educator, activist, and historian. An alumnus, he returned to the school as its principal.[8]
  • John Patterson Greene, the "Father of Labor Day"[9]
  • Louis William Greeve, industrial designer and pioneer in the aerospace industry [10]
  • Marcus A. Hanna, businessman and U.S. Senator. Served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. [11]
  • Langston Hughes, poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist [12]
  • Helen Haiman Joseph, the "grandmother of American puppetry" because of her practical and scholarly knowledge of marionettes[13]
  • "Mickey" Katz, American musician and comedian who specialized in Jewish humor[14]
  • Mary Brown Martin, the first African-American woman elected to the Cleveland, Ohio school board [15]
  • Carman Sumner Newsome, African-American movie star, musician, and leader of a prominent jazz band[16]
  • Lila Pauline Robeson, international opera star and the first Cleveland-born artist to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York [17]
  • John D. Rockefeller Sr., businessman and philanthropist.[18]
  • John L. Severance, industrialist and philanthropist [19]
  • Noble Sissle, African-American composer, bandleader and vocalist [20]
  • Thaddeus Spratlen, business school professor[21]
  • Louis Stokes, attorney, civil rights pioneer, and politician who served 15 terms in the US House of Representatives [22]
  • Rachael Walker Turner, African-American soprano [23]
  • Joseph Louis Weinberg, Architect who pioneered urban-renewal and slum clearance efforts [24]
  • Adolph Weinberger, founder of Gray Drug Stores, Inc.[25]

References
  1. Central High School. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/central-high-school)
  2. Central High School. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/central-high-school)
  3. Pianka, Jim Dubelko with research support from Raymond L. "West High - Cleveland Builds its First Public High School on the West Side". Cleveland Historical.
  4. New York Times Obituary. "Charles F. Brush, scientist dead. Inventor of arc light. 80-years old." Feb. 18, 2022.(https://www.nytimes.com/1929/06/16/archives/charles-f-brush-scientist-dead-inventor-of-arc-light-80-years-old.html.}
  5. "Ronnick: Within CAMWS territory Helen M. Chesnutt (1880-1969), Black Latinist"(https://camws.org/meeting/2005/abstracts2005/ronnick.html.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  6. "General Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr.". AF.mil. United States Air Force. (https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107298/general-benjamin-oliver-davis-jr)
  7. Davis, Harry Edward. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/d/davis-harry-edward. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  8. Finding aid for the Russell Howard Davis Papers|website=catalog.wrhs.org (http://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/view?docId=ead/MS4031.xml;query=harry+edward+davis;brand=default%7Ctitle=Finding aid for the Russell Howard Davis Papers|website=catalog.wrhs.org)
  9. Greene, John Patterson, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/g/green-john-patterson. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  10. Greeve, Louis William, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/g/greve-louis-william. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  11. Hanna, Marcus A. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/h/hanna-marcus-alonzo. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  12. Article in New York Times "Langston Huges Birth Date, Aug. 9, 2018." (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/arts/langston-hughes-birth-date.html)
  13. Joseph, Helen Haiman, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University(https://case.edu/ech/articles/j/joseph-helen-haiman. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  14. Katz, Meyer Myron "Mickey." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/k/katz-meyer-myron. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  15. Martin, Mary Brown. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/martin-mary-brown.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  16. Newsome, Carman Sumner. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/n/newsome-carman-sumner.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  17. Robeson, Lila Pauline. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/r/robeson-lila-pauline. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  18. Rockefeller, John D. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/r/rockefeller-john-d.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  19. Severance, John Long. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/severance-john-long. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  20. Sissle, Noble. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/sissle-noble)
  21. "Teacher, advocate and pioneer: Thaddeus Spratlen's trailblazing legacy". Fisher College of Business. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  22. "Louis Stokes diagnosed with lung and brain cancer". cleveland.com. 20 July 2015 (https://www.cleveland.com/naymik/2015/07/louis_stokes_diagnosed_with_lu.html#incart_2box_news_index.ssf.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  23. Turner, Rachael Walker. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/t/turner-rachel-walker. Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  24. Weinberg, Joseph Lewis. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/w/weinberg-joseph-lewis.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
  25. Weinberger, Adolph. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case-Western Reserve University (https://case.edu/ech/articles/w/weinberger-adolph.Retrieved Feb. 18, 2022.)
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