Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1912
Cigar-shaped rubber balloon
Wikipedia's Ashland page says local man Harry Ross Gill invented a way to make cigar-shaped balloons in 1912, when balloons had been only round, founded Eagle Rubber Company in 1913 and National Latex in 1929, and made Ashland the 'balloon capital of the world'.
At a glance
- Year
- 1912
- Company
- Eagle Rubber Company / National Latex
- Place
- Ashland, Ashland County ZIP 44805 · Ashland · Ashland County
Why it matters
Started a local balloon industry.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Ashland's history credits local man Harry Ross Gill with inventing the cigar-shaped balloon in 1912 and starting Ashland's balloon industry.
The other claims. The 1912 date and the claim that he was the first rest on a single source and have not been independently confirmed.
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.