The history of Cleveland is marked by great people, brilliant minds and genius inventions. Many innovations in science, art, industry and countless other fields can trace their lineage to the Forest City. These nine Cleveland inventions just go to show how much our city has changed the world for the better.
- Superman
Flickr/tom_bullock Move over, Metropolis. The creators of the world’s first and greatest superhero, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were high schoolers in Cleveland when they first came up with the idea for their caped creation in 1933. Given just how popular superheroes are today, the landscape of modern entertainment truly owes a great debt to Cleveland.
- Golf balls
Flickr/Shazwan While golf has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until Cleveland inventor Coburn Haskell created the modern rubber-cored dimpled ball that golf as we know it today came to be.
- Electric streetcar
Flickr/Tim Wilson Charles Brush debuted the very first electric rail streetcar in the Forest City, forever changing public transportation in major cities. The magic of a streetcar ride is still a special feeling today, made even more amazing by the fact that this phenomenon was born in Cleveland.
- Shopping mall
Flickr/Daniel X. O’Neil Built in 1890, the Cleveland Arcade was the first indoor shopping complex in America. The iconic skylight was a remarkable feat of engineering, and you can still take in all its beauty by visiting today.
- Lifesavers
Flickr/Andrew Maglll These uniquely shaped mints were created after a Cleveland confectioner named Clarence Crane used a pharmacist’s pill-making press to design a minty candy he could sell in the summer months. The iconic life preserver-inspired design came from his experiences watching ships come in and out of Lake Erie.
- Electric traffic light
Flickr/Clay Junell While this wasn’t the first attempt at a street traffic control mechanism, Cleveland installed the first electric light that soon became the global standard for traffic regulation.
- Gas masks
Flickr/Welcome Images Invented in 1916, the modern gas mask came just in time for the chemical weapons use that was rampant in the early days of World War I. All sides of the conflict borrowed the technology Cleveland inventor Garrett A. Morgan originally designed to rescue trapped miners.
- Medical scanning technology
Flickr/Thirteen of Clubs A physicist at the Case School of Applied Science at Cleveland’s Case Western Univiersity named Dayton C. Miller was the first to invent a full-body scanning machine, the technology driving everything from MRIs to CAT scans today.
- Cars
Flickr/Jeremy Smith While Detroit is widely considered by many to be the heart of the American car industry, most don’t realize that the very first gas-powered automobile was manufactured by Ohio City’s own John W. Lambert, making Cleveland the first true home of the car.
Are there any other amazing inventions that first came to be in Cleveland? Tell us about them in the comment section below.
Flickr/tom_bullock
Move over, Metropolis. The creators of the world’s first and greatest superhero, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were high schoolers in Cleveland when they first came up with the idea for their caped creation in 1933. Given just how popular superheroes are today, the landscape of modern entertainment truly owes a great debt to Cleveland.
Flickr/Shazwan
While golf has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until Cleveland inventor Coburn Haskell created the modern rubber-cored dimpled ball that golf as we know it today came to be.
Flickr/Tim Wilson
Charles Brush debuted the very first electric rail streetcar in the Forest City, forever changing public transportation in major cities. The magic of a streetcar ride is still a special feeling today, made even more amazing by the fact that this phenomenon was born in Cleveland.
Flickr/Daniel X. O’Neil
Built in 1890, the Cleveland Arcade was the first indoor shopping complex in America. The iconic skylight was a remarkable feat of engineering, and you can still take in all its beauty by visiting today.
Flickr/Andrew Maglll
These uniquely shaped mints were created after a Cleveland confectioner named Clarence Crane used a pharmacist’s pill-making press to design a minty candy he could sell in the summer months. The iconic life preserver-inspired design came from his experiences watching ships come in and out of Lake Erie.
Flickr/Clay Junell
While this wasn’t the first attempt at a street traffic control mechanism, Cleveland installed the first electric light that soon became the global standard for traffic regulation.
Flickr/Welcome Images
Invented in 1916, the modern gas mask came just in time for the chemical weapons use that was rampant in the early days of World War I. All sides of the conflict borrowed the technology Cleveland inventor Garrett A. Morgan originally designed to rescue trapped miners.
Flickr/Thirteen of Clubs
A physicist at the Case School of Applied Science at Cleveland’s Case Western Univiersity named Dayton C. Miller was the first to invent a full-body scanning machine, the technology driving everything from MRIs to CAT scans today.
Flickr/Jeremy Smith
While Detroit is widely considered by many to be the heart of the American car industry, most don’t realize that the very first gas-powered automobile was manufactured by Ohio City’s own John W. Lambert, making Cleveland the first true home of the car.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
