John Griswold White

Early life and education John Griswold White was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1845 to Bushnell and Elizabeth Brainard (Clark) White, both originally from Massachusetts. Both of John Griswold White's parents valued education, and Bushnell White once wrote a letter to the Cleveland Herald and Gazette in March 1847 that read in part: "Freedom and equal rights have ever, and always will, exist in proportion to the knowledge of the people." Bushnell White graduated from Williams College, and Elizabeth White graduated from Troy (NY) Female Seminary.

John G. White was born near-sighted but was not diagnosed until he was a teenager. Although fitted with glasses eventually, White usually read without them, preferring (according to his contemporaries) to hold the books close to his face.

White received early education in the Little Red School House of Northford, Connecticut, at home, and at Canandaigua Academy. In Connecticut, where books and money were scarce, White learned to read quickly. He befriended a nearby town's bookseller, who allowed him to read while his mother did her weekly shopping. Currently named Schneider Smeltz Spieth Bell LLP, He was elected president at a meeting of the "Board of Managers of the Public Library" on May 13, 1884, and served the following year in 1885 as president, also. He became Library Board President again in 1910 until his death in 1928. He also helped appoint William Brett as director and Linda Eastman as Brett's successor. Marilla Waite Freeman served as head of the library's Main Library building during White's tenure.

In 1884, Cleveland Public Library was thought to be mismanaged. Together with William Brett, White began a survey to discover how other libraries were being managed. In succeeding years, this led to: a newer shelf-classification system for the Cleveland Public Library derived from the Dewey Decimal System; an open-shelf system allowing patrons access to the collection; and establishing branches, sub-branches, deposit stations, and delivery stations. White, being concerned about Cleveland Public Library staff, established one of the earliest staff annuity plans for public employees.

Personal life When taking walks, John and his father would engage in intellectual activities such as only speaking Latin one day, Greek another, and having a "Chess Day" where they would play chess by memory with neither pieces nor a board. (e.g., Through the Looking-Glass, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam).

Chess historian H. J. R. Murray, who called White's chess library the largest in the world, White donated his collection to the Cleveland Public Library to form the John G. White Collection on Folklore, Orientalia, and Chess.

The library has since split the collection into three: The John G. White Chess and Checkers Collection is described as the "argest chess library in the world (32,568 volumes of books and serials, including 6,359 volumes of bound periodicals.)" The John G. White Folklore Collection contains 47,040 volumes, "one of the largest in the nation. It is broadly defined in scope and international in coverage without period restrictions. Included are primitive, peasant, native, and folk cultures within geographic restrictions." The John G. White Collection of Orientalia includes "materials on Asia, the Near and Middle East, Africa, Australia and Oceania," emphasizing "the humanistic and social science aspects of traditional cultures prior to the impact of European influence."

Death White left Cleveland for a fishing trip at his favorite mountain resort in Jackson Lake, Wyoming, with his friend and former law associate T.A. McCaslin for a fishing trip. Four weeks into his vacation, White died from pneumonia on August 27, 1928. The funeral service was held at the First Unitarian Church on Euclid Avenue and East 82nd Street, with the Reverend Dilworth Lupton conducting. In attendance were Judge John C. Hutchins, and many of White's young apprentices from his White, Cannon, & Spieth Firm. The Cleveland Public Library closed its doors in the afternoon. In attendance were the Cleveland Public Library administrators, the library's board members, and over 100 librarians who passed Mr. White in Cleveland Public Library halls with occasional glances. The Reverend Lupton stated "Mr. White was a man rich of deeds, a man who shunned the limelight and publicity. His friends speak of his honesty, courageous thinking and speaking. His love of nature, people and books. He was a man who grew around him a group of friends to whom he was constantly loyal."