Scientist and inventor Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) was born in Euclid, Ohio. This 9.25" x 6.25" (23.5 x 15.9 cm) photograph shows the Brush family's modest farmhouse at East 260th St. and Brush Road. The photograph is part of an extensive collection housed in the Special Collections Department of the Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western Reserve University. The materials document Brush's career as an inventor and businessman and include letters, photographs, patents, and newspaper clippings. Brush became interested in physics and chemistry as a student at Cleveland High School and earned his mining engineering degree from the University of Michigan in 1869. He returned to Cleveland, where he patented more than fifty inventions during the course of his career. Brush's open coil-type dynamo is known as a predecessor to the modern generator. In 1878, Brush invented the arc lamp, which was used to light streets and large spaces. It became one of the most widely used lamps in the United States. Many of Brush's experiments were conducted in the basement laboratory of his Euclid Avenue home.

By the end of his career he received more than fifty patents. The Brush Electric Company was formed in Cleveland in 1880. In 1891, it merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become General Electric Company. After the merger, Brush retired from the business world to focus on his experiments and philanthropic work. He was a founder of the Case School of Applied Science and a trustee of Western Reserve University and received dozens of honorary degrees and awards for his work. Brush died in Cleveland on June 15, 1929. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery.

Cleveland inventor Charles F. Brush's open coil-type dynamo is known as a predecessor to the modern generator. Shown here, the arc generator became one of Brush's first patented inventions in 1876. It measures approximately 6' x 6' (1.83 x 1.83 m). The second 8" x 10.5" (20.32 x 26.67 cm) photograph shows an improved dynamo produced by Brush in the 1890s.

Charles Francis Brush (1849-1929) was born in Euclid, Ohio. Brush became interested in physics and chemistry as a student at Cleveland High School and earned his mining engineering degree from the University of Michigan in 1869. He returned to Cleveland, where he patented more than fifty inventions during the course of his career. In 1878, Brush invented the arc lamp, which was used to light streets and large spaces. It became one of the most widely-used lamps in the United States. Many of Brush's experiments were conducted in the basement laboratory of his Euclid Avenue home.

The Brush Electric Company was formed in Cleveland in 1880. In 1891, the company merged with the Edison General Electric Company to become General Electric Company. After the merger, Brush retired from the business world to focus on his experiments and philanthropic work. He was a founder of the Case School of Applied Science and a trustee of Western Reserve University and received dozens of honorary degrees and awards for his work. Brush died in Cleveland on June 15, 1929. He is buried in Lake View Cemetery.

This gold bug, actually made of brass, measures 3" by 5" (7.62 by 12.7 cm). During William McKinley's first presidential campaign, the gold standard was an important issue. Opponent William Jennings Bryan advocated departure from standard, issuing more money, especially coinage in silver. McKinley's stand was to remain with gold standard. The "gold bug" became a symbol in campaign.

William McKinley (1843-1901), the twenty-fifth president of the United States, was born in Niles, Ohio. He enlisted in the army at the outbreak of the Civil War and, after being mustered out, studied law and opened a law office in Canton, Ohio. McKinley served in the U.S. Congress for 14 years, and became president in 1897, largely due to the influence of Marcus Hanna, boss of the Cleveland political machine. McKinley was most noted for his foreign policy and the conduct of the Spanish-American War in 1898. It was during McKinley's administration that the U.S. acquired its first overseas possessions in the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. He was re-elected in 1900, but was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in 1901. His running mate, Theodore Roosevelt, then became president.

This tilting x-ray table represents the top of the Engeln Electric Company product line in the late 1920s. It features a rail-mounted Coolidge x-ray tube (1913) and Bucky-Potter diaphragm (1921) in the table bed, which both helped reduce exposure time and attain x-ray images of greater size and clarity. The tilting table incorporates a sliding carriage underneath the table with another Coolidge tube, which projected upon a fluoroscopic screen, giving a "live" x-ray image. The table includes two x-ray tables and fluoroscopic screen assemblies; wall-mounted high voltage transformer; movable control panel; ceiling hangers (5), junction boxes (2), and floor stand for high-voltage cables. The table measures 77" (196 cm length) by 78" (198 cm height) by 33" (84 cm width).

Cleveland became home to many new medical technology industries after 1900. X-ray equipment manufacturers flourished, as exemplified by the pioneering Engeln Electric Company. At the turn of the 20th century, businessman Henry Engeln collaborated with Dr. George Iddings to manufacture static machines, induction coils, fluoroscopes, and x-ray tubes. Engeln soon opened a factory at 30th and Superior avenues, where they produced a full line of x-ray and electro-therapeutic equipment in the 1920s. Engeln Electric Company was eventually bought out by Westinghouse. They, in turn, sold the Cleveland plant to Picker X-Ray Corporation. Picker resumed production of equipment at the Engeln site and, its corporate descendent, Picker International (since December 1999, part of Marconi Medical Systems), maintains its headquarters in suburban Cleveland.