Representative John Patterson Green portrait   Save
Ohio History Connection
Description: Photograph of John Patterson Green (1845-1940), a Republican from Cuyahoga County who served in the Ohio House of Representatives during the 65th session (1882-1883) and 69th session (1890-1891) and in the Ohio Senate during the 70th session (1892-1893) of the General Assembly. Green was born in 1845 in New Bern, North Carolina, to free African American parents. His father died when he was five years old, and in 1857, Green's family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Green attended high school, studied law and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1870. He became the first African American elected to political office in Cuyahoga County in 1873 when he became a justice of the peace. Green remained in politics, serving in the Ohio House and Senate. As a representative, Green introduced the legislation that established Labor Day in Ohio. He also advocated civil rights laws for the state. Green was only the second African American to serve in the Ohio House of Representatives and the first to serve in the Ohio Senate. President William McKinley appointed Green as Government Stamp Agent in 1897. When Congress eventually abolished this position, Green returned to his home in Cleveland and established a law practice with his two sons. He later wrote an autobiography entitled "Fact Stranger Than Fiction." Green died in Cleveland in 1940. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P206_B05_Green
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Ohio House of Representatives; Ohio--Politics and government; Elected officials; Civil rights; Labor Day
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)