Marvin Kent

Marvin Kent (September 21, 1816 – December 10, 1908) was a railroad president, politician, and businessman from Portage County, Ohio, United States, best known as the namesake of the city of Kent, Ohio, which was previously known as Franklin Mills.

Biography Marvin Kent was born in Ravenna, Ohio, and was heavily involved in the business dealings of his father Zenas Kent from a very young age. He also had considerable land holdings and built a four-story commercial block in what is now downtown Kent in 1837 that was said to have been the tallest building in Ohio at the time. He eventually would relocate to Franklin Mills in 1851. Marvin Kent had two sons: Henry Lewis Kent and William Stewart Kent. Henry was the father of two daughters and the grandfather of Marvin Kent Curtis. William Kent played a key role in the establishment of Kent State University in 1910 by donating the land for the original campus.