The history of Cleveland can be a bit of a roller coaster ride.
The city once considered a major transportation hub on the Great Lakes and place of economic prosperity. At other times, Cleveland has been dismissed as the “Mistake on the Lake.”
In truth, Cleveland has a rich history that extends to various industries and disciplines, from politics and arts to civil rights and sports.
In coming up with the list of the most influential Clevelanders in history, we limited it to people who were either born, have very close ties to Cleveland or spent significant parts of their lives here.
For instance, we excluded Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders because she is from Akron. But we included fellow Akron-native LeBron James because of his massive impact on the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise.
These are the people who not only shaped Cleveland, but also made their mark on the rest of the world.