Cincinnati wasnt always known by it's present name. It was first called Ft. Washington in honor of George Washington. Then, in 1788, it was named Losantiville. There is no data on just who dreamed that name up, but in 1789, the local Indians came calling bent on destroying the tiny settlement. They failed. Another attack came in 1790 and 91. By 1802, the Indians gave up, and the settlement was named Cincinnati, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati by General Arthur St. Clair, then the governor of the Northwest Territory.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the one who named it "The Queen City of the West". Apparently Mr. Longfellow wasn't aware of the other 2000 miles of land between Ohio and California. Looking at any police car will remind you of the nickname.
Winston Churchhill called Cincinnati one of the most beautiful cities in the Union. (He didnt get out much, did he?) Harriet Beecher Stowe started writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin" while living in Cincinnati, and the Reverend William Holman McGuffey published his reader in Cincinnati. Washington Roebling built a magnificent suspension bridge spanning the Ohio river long before the Brooklyn Bridge was built and it is still standing, looking as good as it did when it was first built in 1867. Ezzard Charles, who defeated Joe Louis for the heavyweight title was a native of the Queen City.
Cincinnati was the first city in America to have a professional baseball team, then known as the Red Stockings, later renamed as the Reds. The Cincinnati Reds in the 70's was known as the "The Big Red Machine". Led by Sparky Anderson, they were one of the only teams aside from the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers to repeat as World Champions in 1975, and 1976. Sparky Anderson remains as the only person to have won World Series' in both the American (with Detroit in 1984) and in the National Leagues.
Cincinnati like other cities is headquarters to many corporations. In the late 1800's, William Proctor and James Gamble established the company known as Proctor and Gamble, who made Star Candles. The candles were shipped to the Ohio River by dray (a sort of wagon) and each box was marked with a star inside of a circle. This logo eventually evolved into the Moon and Stars logo that was recently removed from thier products because a few people thought that it was satanic. Actually, the logo featured a moon with 13 stars, one for each of the original colonies. William Proctor was known to be a very patriotic and devout man. Barney Kroger began a bakery that eventually grew into the Kroger supermarket chain, which has stores in most every US state. In 1885, Bicycle Playing cards were introduced by The United States Playing Card Co. In 1892, Bee brand cards came out. Aviator brand cards were introduced in 1927, to honor Charles Lindburgh after he made his historic flight across the Atlantic. Aviator updates it's box every few years to reflect the changes in aviation. USPC is still located where it was founded, at the corner of Beech and Park Sts in Norwood OH. Currently the box features an outline of a 737. General Electric produces jet engines at thier plant just north of Cincinnati in Evendale, and the Voice of America broadcasts from a transmitter located in the Queen City.
Cincinnati was also the home of Powel Crosley, the inventor of the do-it- yourself car. You went to the hardware store, or Sears, and bought the kit. A couple of afternoons in the garage, and you were driving. Crosley also made radios and refrigerators and all sorts of things for the home. The car kit didnt quite catch on, and was discontinued sometime in the mid 50s, Crosley went out of business.
Cincinnati is located in Hamilton county, which was named for Alexander Hamilton, who incidentally succeeded George Washington as the Secretary-General of the Society of the Cincinnati.
The statue of Cincinnatus handing the rods of power back to the city fathers is located in Ft. Washington Park.
Rome and Cincinnati have at least one thing in common, both are built on seven hills and are located on a river. Rome has the Tiber, Cincinnati has the Ohio.
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