The Ohio Connection

“Ohio in modern times has been reduced to spectator status when our quadrennial free-for-all rolls around.” —Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., from his acceptance speech at the 1992 Ohioana Career Medal Presentation.

• Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger was born in Columbus on October 15, 1917.
• As an adolescent he changed his middle name to that of his father, Arthur Meier Schlesinger, a professor of history at Ohio State University.
• His mother, Elizabeth Bancroft Schlesinger, was a descendant of the famous 19th century historian, George Bancroft.
• The young Schlesinger spent summers at his grandmother’s home in Xenia, Ohio.
• In 1992, his distinguished career was honored by the Ohioana Library Association, which awarded Schlesinger with its annual Career Medal.