Contact: Kim Schuette
614.297.2314/614.565.9104 (cell)
[email protected]
News
For Immediate Release─July 7, 2010
Ohioans Choose Edison for National Statuary Hall Collection
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) ─On behalf of the National Statuary Collection Study Committee, the
Ohio Historical Society announces that inventor Thomas A. Edison was the top vote-getter for
Ohio’s representative to National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
From March 20 to June 12, more than 37,000 Ohioans statewide cast ballots for one of 10
nominees for whom they thought should stand for Ohio in Washington, D.C. Of the total, Edison
received 12,132 votes, followed by the Wright Brothers with 10,895 votes and William M.
McCulloch with 3,569 votes, according to Burt Logan, executive director and CEO of the Ohio
Historical Society.
“The response to the popular vote was extraordinary,” Logan said. “Ohioans of all ages and from
every region of the state took this opportunity to tell state legislators who they want to represent
the state in National Statuary Hall and Thomas Edison, world-famous inventor born in Milan,
Ohio, is the people’s choice.”
The National Statuary Collection Study Committee asked the Ohio Historical Society to conduct
the popular vote this past spring at 36 historic sites and museums with the assistance of the
Cincinnati Museum Center and Western Reserve Historical Society. Individuals also could e-mail
or mail completed ballots to the Ohio Historical Society.
“The notion that that kids and families were out visiting historical sites and museums and
learning more about Ohio’s many contributions to our nation’s history is exciting to those of us
who have been involved in this process,” said Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Ottawa Hills), chairman
of the National Statuary Collection Study Committee. “Any one of the 10 candidates could have
represented our state well, that’s why getting input from the general public was so important to
us.”
The National Statuary Collection Study Committee will consider the public vote to be the greatest
single factor in making its final recommendation to the full General Assembly for approval. Plans
for when the Committee will reconvene will be announced by Senator Wagoner’s office in the
near future.
Once the decision has been made and private funds have been raised, the new statute will join the
statue of President James Garfield as Ohio representatives in Statuary Hall. The Ohio Statuary
Hall Commission was established to raise the private funding necessary to commission the new
statue to send to Washington and make arrangements for bringing Governor Allen’s statue home
to Ohio.
-more-
Page 2-National Statuary Hall Results
The Vote Totals
Of the total 37,249 votes, 21,298 were cast by adults and 15,951 by students.
The final results are listed below:
Nominee
Thomas A. Edison
Wright Brothers
William M. McCulloch
Jesse Owens
Ulysses S. Grant
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Taylor Upton
Judith A. Resnik
Albert B. Sabin
James Mitchell Ashley
Adults
8,601
4,975
3,143
1,250
1,198
751
737
307
299
37
Students
3,531
5,920
426
1,878
1,329
937
666
746
169
349
Total
12,132
10,895
3,569
3,128
2,527
1,688
1,403
1,053
468
386
Percentage
32.6%
29.2%
9.6%
8.4%
6.8%
4.5%
3.8%
2.8%
1.3%
1%
“Clearly, the process to help choose the new statue has brought a renewed interest in American
history and to the significant contributions of these exceptional Ohioans who helped shape who
we are as a nation today,” said Logan. “It has engaged thousands of Ohio citizens in an
unprecedented way by encouraging public participation and continued learning.”
About the National Statuary Collection Study Committee
In 1864, a federal law granted each state in the union the opportunity to provide two statues in
either marble or bronze to recognize deceased residents for their “historic renown or for
distinguished civic or military service.” Ohio been represented by President James Garfield and
former Ohio Governor William Allen since the 1880s.
In 2006, the General Assembly voted to replace Governor Allen’s statue because his views on
race are not representative of Ohioans today. The National Statuary Collection Study Committee
was charged with making recommendations to the full General Assembly about which Ohioan
from Ohio’s past would best represent the state in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.
The six-member committee is comprised of equal membership from the Ohio House and Senate,
including Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Ottawa Hills), who chairs the Committee, Representative
Tom Letson (D-Warren), who serves as vice chairman, Senator Karen Gillmor (R-Tiffin), Senator
Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), Representative Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery) and Representative
Richard Adams (R-Troy). After a series of public meetings around the state to learn about the
lives and contributions of many worthy Ohioans, the Committee narrowed a list of more than 90
nominees to 10 in February and sought the input of the general public through a public vote
process, which ended June 12.
###
Note: Results also will be posted on www.legacyforohio.org.
For more information about The National Statuary Collection Study Committee, please contact
Kristin Strobel in Senator Wagoner’s office at (614) 466-8060. Regarding the voting process,
please contact Kim Schuette with the Ohio Historical Society at (614) 297-2314. Regarding the
Ohio Statuary Hall Commission, please contact Elizabeth Pierce with the Cincinnati Museum
Center at (513) 368-2139.