Special Honorary Achievement
Thomas Corwin Mendenhall was a Physicist, Geologist, Educator and an Administrator. Although not a Ravenna native, Thomas Mendenhall chose Ravena as his retirement home after a life of worldwide travel, work and study. In those 13 years until his death in 1924 he became a vital part of our community, sharing his experiences with classes, school assemblies, civic groups, personal tutoring, encouraging Ravenna students in their secondary and college work, contributing time and money for the establishment of Reed Memorial Library and serving on its’ Board of Trustees. Thomas Mendenhall taught on the first faculty of Ohio State and was on the faculty of the Imperial University of Japan. Both universities honored him with science buildings in his name. He also organized the Ohio State Weather Service and assisted the Signal Corps in establishing U.S. Weather Service Weather Stations. Thomas Mendenhall became famous for his work on the U.S. Coast Geodetic Survey and U.S.-Canadian Boundary Commission. He was honored in return by the naming of the “Mendenhall” Glacier seen by travelers of the Inner Passage to Alaska. There were many more commissions, many more universities and many more honors. Thomas Corwin Mendenhall truly believed, “An educated person is one who knows where to go to find knowledge and then uses it.”