Ohio is known as the "Buckeye State", an area of rolling plains, the Allegheny plateau in the east, the Lake Erie plains in the north and the central plains in the west. La Salle visited the area in 1669 and by 1685 American fur traders began to settle. During the American Revolution, Virginians defeated the British in the area in 1774 and 1777. The region became a U.S. territory after the war. By 1788 the first settlement was founded at Marietta and by 1794 conflicts with the Indians had ceased. During the War of 1812, Oliver H. Perry's victory against the British on Lake Erie and the subsequent invasion of Canada in 1813 secured the territory. Ohio became the 17th state of the union on March 1, 1803. Eight U.S. Presidents have come from Ohio, including: William Henry Harrison, Grant, Garfield, Hayes, McKinley, Harding, Taft and Benjamin Harrison. Other famous Ohioans include: Neil Armstrong, Clarence Darrow, Thomas Edison, Clark Gable, John Glenn, Bob Hope, Jack Nicklaus, Jesse Owens, Pete Rose, John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Jr. @
