James A. Rhodes

James A. Rhodes, born in Coalton, Ohio on September 13, 1909, served as the 44th mayor of Columbus from 1944 to 1952, represented the United States at the Olympic Games in London in 1948, and was Ohio’s longest-termed governor. He established Ohio’s systems of two-year, technical, and vocational schools, expanded the state university system to 12 universities, increased two-year school enrollment from 27,000 to 147,000 students between 1965 and 1982, increased state support for medical education, and established the Ohio Board of Regents as the coordinating body for higher education in Ohio. He also established the Ohio Water Development Authority, the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, the Ohio Youth Commission, and the Ohio Commission of Aging, and in 1976 established the Golden Buckeye Card program. His work included expanding Ohio’s state parks by building six, leading the building of Ohio’s part of the Appalachian Highway System serving southern Ohio, making Ohio a leader in interstate highway development, building 85 county airports, and being a principal state partner in creating the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State University. He was responsible for building the Ohio Historical Society Center in Columbus and the Ohio Historical Center at the State Fairgrounds, built the Ohio State Fair to the largest in the country and called it “The Showcase of Ohio,” and established the Junior Fairboard, the Agriculture Hall of Fame, and The Sale of Champions. He founded the Ohio Association of Commodores and the renowned Rhodes Raiders to promote Ohio and attract businesses, was the nation’s first governor to lead a trade mission to China, served as former president of the American Athletic Union, co-authored three historical novels and authored another, received honorary degrees from eleven Ohio colleges and universities, and was a founder of the Pan-American Games. He died in Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 2001.

Jackson, Ohio · United States