Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 166,179 at the 2000 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Montgomery, Miami, Greene, and Preble counties, had a population of 848,153 in the 2000 census. Dayton is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Ohio and the 61st largest Metropolitan Area in the United States. The Dayton-Springfield-Greenville Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,085,094 in 2000. Dayton is situated within the Miami Valley region of Ohio, just north of the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

Dayton plays host to significant industrial, aerospace, and technological/engineering research activity and is known for the many technical innovations and inventions developed there. Much of this innovation is due in part to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and its place within the community. With the decline of heavy manufacturing, Dayton's businesses have diversified into the service economy, including the insurance, legal, and healthcare sectors, though the city's population has continued to decline. Dayton is also noted for its association with aviation; the city is home to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The city was the home of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, which brought an end to the war in Bosnia. Orville Wright, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, and entrepreneur John H. Patterson were born in Dayton.

Dayton is also known for its many patents, inventions, and inventors that have come from the area, most notable being the Wright Brother's invention of powered flight. In 2008, Site Selection magazine ranked Dayton the #1 medium sized metropolitan area in the nation for growth and expansion.

G.I. Joe
For a time Dayton was the secret location of the Pit, G.I. Joe's secret headquarters, located beneath the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The site was later used as a hidden research facility by General G.I. Joe and G.I. Jane.