Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States with a population of 166,179 (2000). It is the county seat and largest city of Montgomery County. The Greater Dayton area or Dayton metropolitan area encompasses a number of contiguous communities outside Dayton city proper, including Vandalia, Trotwood, Kettering, Centerville and Beavercreek, with a population of 848,153 (2000). Dayton is situated within the Miami Valley region of Ohio, just north of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

Name and history

Dayton was founded on April 1, 1796 by a small group of US settlers seven years before the admission of Ohio to the Union in 1803. The town was incorporated in 1805 and given its name after Jonathan Dayton, a captain in the American Revolutionary War and signer of the U.S. Constitution. Dayton was the home of aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright who, before their aviation success, ran a bicycle shop in Dayton. It was also the home of the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and of John H. Patterson 1, who founded a successful cash register business in Dayton, National Cash Register Corporation, or NCR, which eventually diversified and was corporation of great importance in the United States during the mid- to late-20th century.

Related Topics:
April 1 - 1796 - US - Union - 1803 - 1805 - Jonathan Dayton - American Revolutionary War - U.S. Constitution - Aviation - Wilbur - Orville Wright - Paul Laurence Dunbar - John H. Patterson - Cash register - National Cash Register Corporation - 20th century

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The Miami and Erie Canal built in the 1830s connected the Dayton commerce from Lake Erie via the Great Miami River and served as the principal route of transportation

Related Topics:
Miami and Erie Canal - 1830s - Lake Erie

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for western Ohio until the 1850s.

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The catastrophic Great Dayton Flood of March 1913 severely affected much of the city, and stimulated the growth of suburban communities outside central Dayton in areas lying further from the Miami River and on higher ground; the Miami Conservancy District was established in 1914 as a result. The flood remains an event of note in popular memory and local histories.

Related Topics:
March - 1913 - Miami Conservancy District - 1914

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Nicknames

Dayton's primary nickname is the "Gem City". The origin of the name is no longer clear; it appears to stem either from a well-known racehorse named "Gem" that hailed from Dayton, or from descriptions of the city likening it to a gem. The most likely origin appears to be an 1840s article in a Cincinnati newspaper which reads

Related Topics:
Racehorse - 1840s - Cincinnati

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:In a small bend of the Great Miami River, with canals on the east and south, it can be fairly said, without infringing on the rights of others, that Dayton is the gem of all our interior towns. It possesses wealth, refinement, enterprise, and a beautiful country, beautifully developed.

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The nickname "Birthplace of Aviation" is also frequently seen due to Dayton being the hometown of the Wright Brothers, and the fact that they developed the principles of aerodynamics, and assembled their planes here. This nickname is also sometimes applied, however, to the state of North Carolina, as it was here that the Wright Brothers' first actual airplane flight took place.

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Notable facts

The city has a rich heritage of inventions and innovations, with more patents per capita than any other city in the nation. Some of these inventions include the stepladder, microfiche, cellophane tape, pop top beverage cans, the movie projector, space food, parking meters, the airplane supercharger, the automobile self-starter, gas masks, and the parachute.

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Dayton has received the All-America City Award three times.

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The first All-American Soap Box Derby was held in Dayton on August 19, 1934.

Related Topics:
Soap Box Derby - August 19 - 1934

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