Editing Akron, Ohio (section)

===1900s–1990s: Rubber Capital of the World===
{{See also|Akron Rubber Strike of 1936}}
[[File:Macon construction struct.jpg|thumb|An airship under construction at the [[Goodyear Airdock]], c. 1930]]
The [[Crime in Akron, Ohio|Riot of 1900]] saw assaults on city officials, two deaths, and the destruction by fire of Columbia Hall and the Downtown Fire Station (now the City Building since 1925).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/history/Riot_1900.htm |title=Akron Ohio History: 1900 Riot |publisher=Ci.akron.oh.us |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215182049/http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/history/Riot_1900.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2012 }}</ref> The American [[trucking industry]] was birthed through Akron's Rubber Capital of the World era when the four major tire companies [[Goodrich Corporation|B.F. Goodrich]] (1869), [[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company]] (1898), [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] (1900),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/history/history_overview.html |title=Goodyear Corporate &#124;&#124; Historic Overview |publisher=Goodyear.com |access-date=April 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090409024843/http://goodyear.com/corporate/history/history_overview.html| archive-date= April 9, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> and [[General Tire|General Tire & Rubber Company]] (1915)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.generaltire.com/generaltire/ |title=General Tire * Our Company |publisher=Generaltire.com |date=March 23, 2009 |access-date=April 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301152422/http://www.generaltire.com/generaltire/ |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=any&CISOBOX1=William&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=all&CISOBOX2=postcards&CISOFIELD2=subjec&CISOROOT=all&t=s |title=CONTENTdm Collection |publisher=Summitmemory.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120085421/http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=any&CISOBOX1=William&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOOP2=all&CISOBOX2=postcards&CISOFIELD2=subjec&CISOROOT=all&t=s |archive-date=January 20, 2013  }}</ref> were headquartered in the city. The numerous jobs the rubber factories provided for deaf people led to Akron being nicknamed the "Crossroads of the Deaf".<ref name="deaftoday.com"/> On Easter Sunday 1913, {{Convert|9.55|in}} of rain fell, [[Great Flood of 1913|causing floods]] that killed five people and destroyed the Ohio and Erie Canal system. From 1916 to 1920, 10,000 schoolgirls took part in the successful Akron Experiment, testing [[iodized salt]] to prevent [[goiter]] in what was known as the "Goiter Belt".<ref>[http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/history/40932322.html]{{Dead link|date=September 2012}}</ref>

In 1914, [[Marcus Garvey]] founded the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League|Universal Negro Improvement Association]] in Kingston, Jamaica; its Akron branch opened in 1921.<ref name="Akron: Akron's Black History Timeline: 1900-1919: The New Century" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Giffin|first1=William|title=African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915–1930|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2MCDFaRcD0C&q=United+Negro+Improvement+Association+%28UNIA%29+was+founded+in+Akron&pg=PA210 |publisher=Thompson Shore, Inc.|isbn=9780814210031|year=2005|page = 210|via = Google Books}}</ref>

Rubber companies responded to housing crunches by building affordable housing for workers. Goodyear's president, [[Frank Seiberling|Frank A. Seiberling]], built the [[Akron neighborhoods|Goodyear Heights]] neighborhood for employees. Likewise, [[Harvey S. Firestone]] built the [[Akron neighborhoods|Firestone Park]] neighborhood for his employees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ci.akron.oh.us/planning/cp/neighborhoods/FirestonePark.pdf |title=Firestone Park |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220033031/http://ci.akron.oh.us/planning/cp/neighborhoods/FirestonePark.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2012 }}</ref> During the 1910–1920 decade, Akron became a [[boomtown]], being America's fastest growing city with a 201.8% increase in population. Of the 208,000 citizens, almost one-third were [[immigrants]] (also [[Clark Gable]])<ref name="Clark Gable - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society"/> and their children from places including Europe and West Virginia. In 1929 and 1931, Goodyear's subsidiary [[Luftschiffbau Zeppelin|Goodyear-Zeppelin Company]] manufactured two airships for the United States Navy, [[USS Akron|USS ''Akron'' (ZRS-4)]] and [[USS Macon (ZRS-5)|USS ''Macon'' (ZRS-5)]]. Goodyear built a number of [[blimps]] for the Navy during WWII and later for advertising purposes.<ref name="blimp"/><ref name="Guide to military installations"/><ref>{{cite web|last = [[Akron-Summit County Public Library]]|website=  Summit Memory|title = Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, Facts About the World's Largest Airship Factory & Dock|url = http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/fulton&CISOPTR=97&CISOSHOW=93|access-date = November 15, 2008|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418022205/http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Ffulton&CISOPTR=97&CISOSHOW=93|archive-date = April 18, 2009|df = mdy-all}}</ref>

Akron again grew when [[Kenmore, Akron, Ohio|Kenmore]] was annexed by voter approval on November 6, 1928. Found hiding under a bed at one of his hideouts in the city, notorious bank robber Charles Arthur "[[Pretty Boy Floyd|Pretty Boy]]" Floyd was arrested under the name "Frank Mitchell" in March 1930.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Charles_Arthur_%27Pretty_Boy%27_Floyd |title=Charles Arthur 'Pretty Boy' Floyd |publisher=Ngeorgia.com |access-date=September 9, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513045345/http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Charles_Arthur_'Pretty_Boy'_Floyd |archive-date=May 13, 2012  }}</ref> Goodyear became America's top tire manufacturer after merging with the [[Kelly-Springfield Tire Company]] in 1935.<ref name="Claims to Fame - Products" /> Lasting five weeks and consisting of roughly 5,000 strikers including union sympathizers from other factories and neighboring states, the [[Akron Rubber Strike of 1936]] successfully used the [[Sitdown strike|"sit-down" tactic]] to force recognition of the [[United Rubber Workers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=461 |title=Akron Rubber Strike of 1936 – Ohio History Central – A product of the Ohio Historical Society |publisher=Ohio History Central |date=July 1, 2005 |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730091514/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=461 |archive-date=July 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1950s–60s Akron surged as use of the automobile did. The historic [[Rubber Bowl]] was used by the [[National Guard of the United States]] as a base during the racial [[Crime in Akron, Ohio|Wooster Avenue Riots of 1968]]. Like many other industries of the [[Rust Belt]], both the tire and rubber industries experienced major decline. By the early 1990s, Goodyear was the last major tire manufacturer based in Akron.