Greater Akron is the birthplace of:

• The first long-distance electric railway in the world (the ABC Line – Akron, Bedford, Cleveland)
• Processed cereals and oatmeal, developed by Ferdinand Schumacher (1822-1908), whose enterprise evolved into Quaker Oats Co.
• America’s first toy company, S.C. Dyke Co., manufacturer of marbles (1890)
• The first automobile police patrol wagon (1899)
• The first balloon tire (1924)
• Alcoholics Anonymous, founded in Akron by “Dr. Bob” (Smith) and “Bill W.” (Wilson) (1935)
• The first synthetic rubber tire (1940)
• The National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum (1995), the world’s first interactive science museum
• The first graded school system in the nation, in which the concept of a school superintendent was created.
• The trucking industry.
• The All-American Soap Box Derby – the world’s greatest amateur racing event for youngsters
• The largest small business incubator in the state and one of the largest in the world.

Greater Akron is the former home of these Great Akronites:

• Abolitionist John Brown
• The late Challenger astronaut Judy Resnick
• Broadcast journalist Hugh Downs
• Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Laureate Rita Dove
• Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, No. 1 selection in the 2003 NBA Draft
• Rock singer/songwriter/guitarist Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders
• R&B musician James Ingram
• Actor Clark Gable, who worked in Akron before making it big in Hollywood
• “Third Rock from the Sun” star John Lithgow
• Supermodel/actress Angie Everhart
• Former Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian
• Former Miami Dolphins running back Larry Csonka
• Former NBA greats Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond
• Guinness Book of World Records’ “Most Traveled Person,” Parke Thompson
• Mina Miller, who married Thomas Edison