Wednesday,
October 25, 2006
OUR ITALIAN AMERICAN HERITAGE- Get Acquainted
The ANNOTICO Report
Some Italian Americans look at the
following List as Italian American Contributions, I prefer to
Consider it Italian Heritage, since our Heritage
is WHO we ARE, and WHAT we DID, not just our Cuisine, Traditions, etc.
Our thanks to The National Italian American Foundation
(NIAF) on whose Website this Information can be found ,
and Italian American One Voice (IAOV) who reminded us about it..
I've Preceded it with an
Index. Those of you who are better informed will realize that this is Not expected to be a Complete List, by any means. It is
more like a sampling!! I noticed a few of my favorites missing.
Try to introduce this List to your KIDS.
Make it a Challenge, Flash Cards or Trivia game, of course
with Rewards, or have them choose a few persons a
week for them to produce a Research paper, again with Rewards, hopefully
Italian or Italian American books or videos.
OUR ITALIAN AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS
Throughout
ITALIAN AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
There are nearly 15 million people who have identified
themselves as Italian American in the 1990
Italian Americans are the fifth largest ethnic group in the
The average Italian American still lives in the city in which he was raised,
has attended at least one year of college and has an average family income of
about $33,000 per year, according to a survey of the National Opinion Research
Center (NORC) at the
Italian Americans are evenly split among the three political parties: 35
percent Republican; 32 percent, Democrat; and 33 percent Independent, according
to the NORC. No matter their political orientation, Italian Americans tend to
support liberal social causes: 89 percent would vote for a woman president; 55
percent are pro-choice; and more than 60 percent think the government should
spend more on health, education and the poor.
Italian Americans either make up 15 percent of the population or! number more than 1 million in the following states:
California 1,500,000
Connecticut 650,000
Massachusetts 845,000
New Jersey 1,500,000
New York 2,900,000
Pennsylvania 1,400,000
Rhode Island 200,000
Italian Americans are also found in significant numbers in 15 other states,
including Florida (800,000); Illinois (730,000), Ohio (640,000); Michigan
(412,000); Texas (314,000) and Maryland (253,000).
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THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
From the beginning of
Three Italian regiments, totaling some 1,500 men, fought for American
independence: the Third Piemonte, the 13th Du Perche, and the Royal Italian.
Filippo Mazzei, a Tuscan physician,
fought alongside Thomas Jeffers! on and Patrick Henry
during the American Revolution. Mazzei drew up a plan
to capture the British in
Italian officers in the American Revolution include: Captain Cosimo de Medici of the North Carolina Light
Dragoons; Lieutenant James Bracco, 7th Maryland Regiment,
killed at the Battle of White Plains; Captain B. Tagliaferro,
second in command of the Second Virginia Regiment, a direct subaltern of
General George Washington; 2nd Lieutenant Nicola Talliaferro
of the 2nd Virginia Regiment; and Colonel Richard Talliaferro,
who fell at the Battle of Guilford.
Other Italian officers, most from
Major John Belli was the Quartermaster General of the U.S.
Army from 1792 to 1794. The first settler in
Three of the first five warships commissioned by the Continental Congress of
the new American government, were named Christopher Columbus, John
Cabot and Andrea Doria. Doria was a 16th century navy admiral from
Francesco Vigo (1747-1836), is believed the first Italian to
become an American citizen. A successful fur trader on the western frontier
(today the mid-western states of
Prepared by: The National Italian American Foundation The
NIAF thanks military historian Rudy A. D'Angelo for
his
assistance with this fact sheet.
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ITALIAN AMERICANS IN THE ARTS
Italian Americans have distinguished themselves in literature, the fine arts
and classical music. This fact sheet represents only a small cross-section of
their achievements.
LETTERS
Helen Barolini is an award-winning novelist, critic, translator and
essayist, and one of the first to write! a novel about
contemporary Italian American women (Umbertina,1979)
John Ciardi, poet and scholar, did the only English
translation of Dante's Divine Comedy that reproduces the Italian poet's complex
rhyme scheme. Ciardi was also a poet in his own right, authored some 60 books,
taught at Harvard and
Don DeLillo, one of the most
important contemporary American novelists, wrote
Pietro di Donato wrote Christ in
Concrete (1939), one of the few proletarian novels written by a blue collar
worker. The son of an Italian immigrant and himself a bricklayer, he captured
the life and death of his father, who was foreman of a construction crew of
Italian immigrants.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory
Corso are two prominent poets of the 1950's
Beat Generation, a small group of artists based in
Barbara Grizzuti-Harrison, one of
the most well-known contemporary writers, is the author of Italian Days,
considered a masterpiece of travel writing, thanks to her acute powers of
observation and broad cultural knowledge. She has also written The Islands of
Italy, A History and a Memory of Jehovah's Witnesses, and The Astonishing
World.
Jerre Mangione
(1909-1998) was one of the most celebrated early Italian American writers. His
first book,
Ed McBain (b.1926), author of The
Black Board Jungle, and inventor of the police procedural novel, has written 94
novels with 100 million copies in print in many languages. He was born
Salvatore Albert Lombino and grew up in
Gay Talese (b.1932) is a prolific
writer and one of the founders! of the 1960's
"New Journalism," which incorporates fictional elements (dialogue,
scene description, and shifting points of view) into news writing. Talese was a reporter for The New York Times between 1956
and 1965, writing about sports and politics. Among his many best-sellers is The
Kingdom and the Power, a critical history of The New York Times Honor Thy
Father, the story of crime boss Joe Bonanno and his
son, Bill; Thy Neighbor's Wife, which examines America's changing sexual mores;
and "Unto the Sons," a largely autobiographical book about his
Italian heritage.
Frances Winwar (1900-1985) was a
novelist, translator, and biographer of poets, statesmen, and heroes, including
Joan of Arc and Napoleon. Born Francesca Vinciguerra in
ART
Enrico Causici, Antonio Capellano
and Luigi Persico were sculptors who worked on the
early phase of the building and decoration of the U.S. Capitol in 1805. They
were the first to introduce American mythology into their sculptures.
Costantino Brumidi, (1805-1880) who emigrated to the
Giorgio Cavallon (1904-1989) was one of
Robert
De Niro (1922-1993) has paintings in the Metropolitan
and
Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997) was known for his
"primitive" paintings of working class life a! nd ethnic neighborhoods, especially that of his
native Bronx in
Attilio Piccirilli and his five
brothers carved the Lincoln Memorial in
John Rapetti (1862-1936), worked in
Frank Stella, born in 1936, achieved fame as a painter and sculptor in the
1960's. His art evolved through several stages and his works range from minimalist
paintings to abstract expressionism. His paintings hang in
CLASSICAL MUSIC AND OPERA
Dominick Argento was awarded the Pulitzer Prize
for Music in 1975 for his song cycles "From the Diary of Virginia
Woolf." Argento is among the most frequently
performed 20th century composers of opera. His most famous works include
"Postcard from
teaching position at universities nationwide.
John Corigliano is the composer of "The
Ghosts of Versailles," which had its premiere in 1991 and was the first
new work commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Opera in more than 25
years. His compositions have won Grammy Awards and have been perfo! rmed
by the most famous orchestras worldwide. His works also include "A Dylan
Thomas Trilogy" and "Sonata for Violin and Piano", which
brought him his first fame in 1963.
David Del Tredici, renown
contemporary composer and Pulitzer Prize winner, was born in 1937 in
Gian Carlo Menotti is the first composer to write American operas that
have become part of the international repertory. Among his most famous works
are "The Consul" (1950); "The Medium" and "The
Telephone" (1947), "Amahl and the Night
Visitors" (1951) and "The Saint of ! Bleeker Street" (1955), an opera set in a modern
Little Italy. His operas "The Consul" and "The Saint of Bleeker Street" won him Pulitzer Prizes. "Amahl" was the first opera ever televised while
"The Consul," "The Medium" and "The Telephone" were produced on Broadway. Menotti also founded the
Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto (1958) and its American counterpart in
POPULAR MUSIC
Italian Americans have helped shape American popular music as composers
and performers.
In 1914, Domenick "Nick" La Rocca, a cornetist, and Anthony Sbarbaro, a drummer, formed the first jazz band, The
Original Dixi! eland Jazz
Band. In 1917, the quintet made the first jazz record, "Darktown Strutters Ball"
which sold a million copies. La Rocca wrote the
classic "Tiger Rag," now known as "Hold That Tiger," the
official song of
Louis Prima, a trumpeter, composer and band leader, successfully crossed
the line between jazz to swing, then to R&B, and finally to rock n' roll.
Some of his famous compositions are "Brooklyn Boogie" and "Oh
Babe." His greatest achievement was his 1936 composition "Sing,
Sing, Sing" which was later recorded by Benny Goodman and stands as the
most powerful big band/ jazz hit of all time.
Three-time Academy Award winner Harry! Warren (1893-1981), was born
Salvatore Guaragna in
Sonny Dae, born Pascal Vennitti
in 1931, recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in 1950, four years before Bill Haley & the Comets made it
"Rock 'n Roll's" first big hit in 1954.
Musical arranger Al Caiola wrote the theme
song for the 1950s TV series "Bonanza."
For nearly half a century, from 1929 to 1977, Guy Lombardo led his Royal
Canadians band, which became an institution on New Year's Eve when millions of
people crowded into
Frank Guida, song writer and music arranger,
produced the 1960s gold records "
Born Alfred Cucozza in
at age 38 in 1959.
Sonny Bono achieved international fame in 1972 with his wife
a popular TV series of the early1960s. Mancini died of pancreatic cancer
in! 1994. He was 70 years old.
Conductor and composer Bill Conti wrote the theme song, "Gonna Fly Now" to the classic movie Rocky in 1976. He
has since scored more than 70 movies, including Rocky II, III, and V; Private
Benjamin, The Karate Kid (I., II, and III), the James Bond film, For Your Eyes
Only, and the astronaut epic, The Right Stuff , for which he received an Academy
Award in 1983. He also has written the theme songs for 40 TV programs,
including Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Life Styles of the Rich and Famous.
Among the many Italian Americans who popularized American songs here and
abroad are Frank Sinatra; Vic Damone (Vito Farinola); Dean Martin ( Dino Crocetti);
Tony Bennett (Anthony Benedetto); Frankie Laine (Frank Lo Vecchio), Perry
Como, Frankie Avalon (Frank Avalone), Bobby Rydell (Roberto Ridarelli),
Connie Francis (! Concetta Franconero),
Bobby Darin (Walden Cassotto), Joanie
James (Joan Babbo) and Jon Bon Jovi.
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ITALIAN AMERICANS IN ATHLETICS / SPORTS
BASEBALL
Legendary Italian Americans have set records in
Known as "The Yankee Clipper," Joseph Paul DiMaggio, the son of
Sicilian immigrants in
Yogi Berra,
born Lawrence Peter Berra in
pennant, becoming the first Italian American manager to win a league
championship. Childhood friends gave him his famous nickname because he used to
sit with his legs crossed like a Buddha in the d! ugout. During his career, Berra had a .285 lifetime
batting average and hit 358 home runs. His malaprop
sayings are part of popular culture and include: "It ain't
over till it's over" and "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too
crowded.
Known as "the Scooter" for his agility as a shortstop, Phil Rizzuto
played for the Yankees from 1941 to 1954, less two years in the Navy during
World War II (1943-45). A key member of ten Yankee pennant-winning teams and
nine World Series classics, he had 200 hits in 1950, a Yankee club record for
shortstops, which helped earn him selection as the American League's most
valuable player that year. After retiring, he became a sports announcer and was
known as "the
voice of the Yankees.
Roy Campanella, a catcher for the Brooklyn
Dodgers, played in five World Series. He was named Most Valuable Player in
1951, 1953 and 1955. He caught 1,215 games in his 10 seasons and had a lifetime
batting average of! .276. His career ended tragically when he was left
paralyzed from a car crash.
Vic Raschi, born March 28, 1919, pitched for
the New York Yankees on five straight World Series champion teams from 1949 to
1953, winning 21 games three years in a row. Nicknamed "the Springfield
Rifle" for his powerful arm, the West Springfield,
The first Italian American to manage a major league baseball team was Phil Cavarretta,
a former player who managed the Chicago Cubs from 1951 to 1954. Cavarretta's appointment came four years after the late
Jackie Robinson became the first African American player in the major leagues.
Baseball's ambassador Tommy Lasorda in 1999
celebrated 50 years with the Dodgers as a player, scout, coach manager, and
vice president. He holds the second longest tenure ! in baseball history with the same team. He led the Dodgers
to a World Championship in 1981, three National League titles and five division
titles. "Mr. Baseball" was named Manager of the Year four times, and
managed in three World Series and three All-Star games.
Billy Martin,
born Alfred Manuel Pesano, became the first Italian
American manager to win a World Series when he led the New York Yankees to
victory in 1977. Four other Italian Americans managers have led their teams to
World Series victories: Tommy Lasorda led the Los
Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and 1988, Joe Altobelli
of the Baltimore Orioles in 1983, Tony LaRussa
of the Oakland Athletics in 1989, and Joe Torre of the New York Yankees in
1996 and 1998.
Buttercup
Dickerson, born Lewis Pessano in
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FOOTBALL
As players and coaches, Italian Americans have set records in one of
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi (1913-1970) led the
Joe Paterno became head coach of the Penn State
football team in 1965 where he led the team to 22 major bowl games and four
perfect seasons, produced many All American players and 48 players who joined
the NFL. Three times honored as Coach of the Year, he won more than 80 percent
of his games.
Lou Little, born Luigi Piccolo in 1893, was a
member of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. He coached
Seven Italian American football players have won the Heisman
Trophy, college football's highest honor. They are Alan Ameche
(
The greatest Super Bowl drive of all time-- eight complete passes in two
minutes and thirty seconds was the work of
Dan Marino,
who played for the Miami Dolphins, was the highest rated quarterback in the NFL
in 1984. He passed for an amazing 47 touchdowns in his first 20 games, a record
it took Joe Namath three seasons to match.
Brian
Piccolo led the nation in rushing when he played for
Pro football "iron man" Andy Robustelli
was well-named. He missed only one game in 14 years with the Los Angeles Rams
and the New York Giants, earning All-Pro honors seven times was named the
National Football League's "Player of the Year" in 1962, and elected
to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Franco
Harris, a black Italian American whose mother came from
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BOXING
Rocky
Marciano is the only undefeated heavyweight boxing champion in
history. He retired in 1956 with a 49-0 record that counted 43 knockouts.
Marciano won the Heavyweight Crown in
Middleweight boxing champions include Carmen Basilio
(1957); Rocky
Graziano (1947); and Jake LaMotta
(1949). In the Lightweight category, world champions include Tony Canzoneri
(1930); Ray
Mancini (1982); and Vinny Pazienza
(1987 and 1991).
In 1940 when Guglielmo Pap! aleo-- Willie Pep--
turned professional boxer when he was only 17 years old. He went on to win 53
fights in a row and then at age 20, beat Chalky Wright for the featherweight
championship of the world. At 5' 5", he lost only one of his first 135
fights.
Boxing manager Angelo Dundee, born Angelo Merena,
Jr. in 1921, trained and managed fifteen world
champions, including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, & Jimmy Ellis.
Bruno Sammartino came to the
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OTHER ATHLETICS /SPORTS
In hockey, brothers Phil and Tony Esposito have set records. Phil once scored
76 netted goals in a single season. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers for 18 years
before retiring in 1981 and in 1984, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
A five-time winner of the Art Ross trophy as the NHL's top scorer, Esposito was
general manager of the New York Rangers. Tony became one of the greatest
goaltenders of all time. A 15-year veteran with the Chicago Blackhawks,
he was nicknamed "Tony O" for his 76 shutouts. Voted National League
All Star a record ten times, Esposito saw his number 35 retired by the Blackhawks in 1988.
Joe Amato
was the 1990 National Hot Rod Association World Champion and the first driver
to surpass 280 miles per hour.
At age 13, tennis player Jennifer Capriati became the first seeded player to win a
match in
At age 15, Linda
Fratianne won the
For three consecutive years from 1986 to 1988, then-22-year-
Charles
Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano,
invented the body-building technique called "Dynamic Tension" in 1921
and was dubbed "
Eddie
Arcaro's horse racing career spanned more than 24,000 races, of
which he won an average of one out of every four for a total of 4,799 wins. A
five-time Kentucky Derby winner, he also won the
During the 1940s and 1950s, Willie Mosconi was the world
billiard champion 15 times, had a consecutive ball run !
of 526 in a 1954 exhibition and held many world
records. He died in 1993.
Victor Romagna sailed on the crew of three winning
Golfer Ken Venturi won both the British and the U.S.
Opens in 1956. In 1964 he won the U.S. Open and was named "Player of the
Year" by the Professional Golf Association.
Golfer Donna
Caponi, with the Ladies' Professional
Golf Association won the U.S. Open in 1969 and 1970. She had five tournament
wins in 1980 and most conse! cutive holes without a bogey-- 50.
Gene Sarazen, born Eugene Saracini
in 1902, is the first golfer to win each of the modern Grand Slam
Championships, beginning with the Professional Golf Association and U.S. Open
titles in 1922. He won both again two more times each. During the 1973 British
Open, he got a hole-in-one on the 126-yard eighth hole.
Mario Andretti won the
Two earlier Italian Americans also won the
In 1990, Mary
Lou Retton, born Mary Lou Rettoni, became the first female gymnast and the youngest
athlete ever inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame. In the 1984 Olympics at
age 16, she won the all-around gold medal in women's gymnastics.
Matt Biondi
has set four World Records and is believed to be the fastest swimmer of all
times. His 11 Olympic medals (8 gold, 2 silver and 1
bronze) tie him with Mark Spitz as the most decorated U.S. Olympian in history.
Jerry Colangelo, an astute judge of basketball
talent, has guided the Phoenix Suns to prominence in the National Basketball
League (NBA) for more than three decades. He became their f! irst general manager in 1968 at
age 28, making him the youngest general manager in sports. A native of
Hank Luisetti, three-time All-American, was the
first basketball player to use a one-handed shot. In 1936, he played for
Susan Notorangelo holds the fastest
transcontinental record for cycling across the
Dan Biasone invented basketball's 24-second
clock in 1954, an invention that many credit with creating the game we know
today. A native of
In 1978,
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ITALIAN AMERICAN BUSINESS LEADERS AND ENTREPRENEURS
Italian Americans have developed some of
The Bank of America, the largest bank in the country, was established in 1904
by Amadeo Pietro ("A.P.") Giannini
(1870-1949) in
The first Italian American millionaire was Generoso Pope, who came to
Americans.
Two Italian Americans developed the American shopping mall. William Cafaro began building and operating
neighborhood shopping centers in the 1940s. When he died at age 84 in 1998, he
was one of the richest men in
The owner of the world's largest distributer of
English-language comic books is
The founders of both Blimpie and Subway Sandwich
chains are Italian American. There are now over 2,000 Blimpies
in the
Mr. Peanut and the Planters Peanut Company were created by Italian immigrants Amedeo Obici
and Mario
Peruzzi in 1887 in
Italian Americans are at the helm of the
Chef
Boyardee, the man behind the nation's leading brand of ready-to-eat
spaghetti dinners, pizza, sauce and pasta, was Ettore
Boiardi, an Italian immigrant, who began as a chef's
apprentice at age 11, eventually opened a restaurant in
When Prohibition was lifted in 1933, brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo took
their entire savings of about $5,000, and began producing wine from the vineyards
their father had owned in
The popular Radio Flyer red wagon was created by Antonio Pasin, an immigrant Italian carpenter in 1917.! Today, his three grandsons run the Chicago-based
Radio Flyer Inc. whose 100 employees manufacture about 8,000 wagons a day.
Mr. Coffee, the best-selling coffee maker in the world, was invented by Vince Marotta,
who also invented the paper coffee filter and developed a better way to extract
oil from coffee beans. Since 1972, more than 50 million Mr. Coffees have been
sold. An estimated 10 billion Mr. Coffee paper filters are sold annually.
Jeno Paulucci
founded Chun King Chow Mein, which he launched with a
$2,500 loan in 1946, and sold 20 years later for $63 million in cash. He has
also founded Jeno's Pizza Rolls, Luigino's
Inc., a line of frozen pasta entrees, and Pasta Lovers Trattorias.
Prince Company, a $200 million-a-year pasta manufacturing business, was
established by Joseph Pellegrino, who emigrated to the
Lee Iacocca,
(born "
Richard A.
Grasso was elected chairman and chief executive officer of the
New York Stock Exchange in 1995. He started at the Exchange in 1968 and
steadily rose through the ranks. In 1988 he became president and chief
operating officer; in 1991 he became executive vice chairman and was elected
chairman and CEO June 1, 1995. He was the first member of the NYSE staff to be
elected to any of those posts in the Exchange's 206-year history.
The world's largest beauty supply distributor wa! s started in 1972 when Michael H. Renzulli took over six stores in
The man who put a hand-held hair dryer in every beauty salon and American home
is Leandro
("Lee") Rizzuto, chairman and president of Conair
Corporation in
Tropicana was founded in 1947 by ! Anthony Rossi
as a
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Italian Americans have made significant contributions
to American education as teachers, and pioneer theorists.
The first graduating class of the
Leonard Covello (1887-1982) was the first Italian American
high school principal in
Peter Sammartino was the founder, president and
chancellor emeritus of
Mother
Frances Cabrini, the first American saint, founded 14 American
colleges, 98 schools, 28 orphanages, eight hospitals, three training schools,
and a score of other institutions with the help of over 4,000 sisters she
recruited for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, a group she also
founded. Mother Cabrini emigrated to the
Italian Americans have founded some of
Italian Americans served as presidents of several notable American colleges
very early in the! ir
history. Father
Giovanni Grassi served as the
president of
In 1978, at age 38, A. Bartlett Giamatti became
the youngest president of
Dr. Edmund
D. Pellegrino, the former president of
Linda Lantieri co-founded "Resolving
Conflicts Creatively," an organization which teaches students how to
prevent violence in the classroom in
As superintendent of
Rosemarie Truglio, Ph.D., is the director of
research for Public Television's award-winning children's program, "
In 1998, the NIAF identified at least 166 college presidents of Italian
descent, including
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ITALIAN AMERICANS IN ENTERTAINMENT
Italian Americans have shaped
The Metropolitan Opera became one of the finest opera companies in the world
under the legendary leadership of its manager, Giulio Gatti-Casazza
(1869-1940) who brought to its stage a brilliant array of singers, including Enrico Caruso,
Rosa
Ponselle, Amelita Galli-Curci, Beniamino
Gigli, and Ezio Pinza as
well as the conductor Arturo Toscanini. Gatti-Casazza
managed the Met from 1908 to 1935.
Frank
Sinatra, the Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning legend known as
"The Voice" and "The Chairman of the Board," was born in
Italian American cartoonists have created some of the world's most
popular animated characters including: Donald Duck, created by Alfred Tagliafero; Woody Woodpecker, a creation
of Walter Lantz, (born "Lanza"); and
The voice of Snow White in the first full-length animated film, released in
1937 belonged to Adriana Caselotti. The
21-year-old coloratura soprano beat out 148 other candidates for the role,
which earned her $960.00. She died in 1997 at age 80.
Among the many Italian Americans in
The producer of all but one of the first 17 James Bond movies was Albert R.
"Cubby" Broccoli. (1909 - 1996).
Broccoli launched the 007 film series in 1962 with "Dr. No." His
last film was "Golden Eye" in 1995. His ancestors developed and
named the popular vegetable in
With a pregnant wife and only $100 in the bank, Sylvester Stallone
wrote the script for Rocky in three and a half days. The screenplay found a
buyer, but Stallone, age 30, refused to sign the contract unless he were allowed to play the lead. The film received an Oscar
for Best Picture in 1976. Stallone is one of the highest-paid actors of all
time.
Vaudeville legend and early television star Jimmy Durante, born in
One of
The man behind Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs and Scooby-Doo
is Joseph Barbera, director, producer, and
co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Film Studios. A banker
and free-lance cartoonist, he met Bill Hanna at MGM in 1937. The team created
Puss Gets the Boots, which was nominated for an Oscar and inspired the Tom
and Jerry cartoons. In 1957, they started their own animation studio and went
on to win seven Oscars during their long collaboration.
A Chorus Line, one of Broadway's longest running shows, was choreographed
by the late Michael
Bennett (born Michael DeFiglia), who
received a Tony for his work.
Susan Sarandon, Bruce Springsteen,
and Ann
Bancroft are Italian American.
SOURCES: A Directory of Italian Americans in
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In all, Christopher
Columbus (1451-1506) made four voyages to the
Giovanni Caboto, whom most know as John Cabot [1450
(c)-1498], discovered
Sebastian
Cabot [1482-1557], the son of John C! abot, organized the English Navy and later, sailing
under the Spanish flag, explored South America, which allowed
The New World was named "
The first! explorer to describe the North American
mainland and
The first relatively large immigration of Italians to the American colonies was
in 1657 when an estimated 300 Protest! ants from
Piedmont landed in
The American Southwest and
Henry Di
Tonti, known as "Tonti the Iron Hand" because he lost
a hand in battle, accompanied Robert La Salle, a Frenchman, and explored for
the first time the
The co-founder of
The route to the the source of the Mississippi River,
was discovered by Giacomo Costantino
Beltrami while he was exploring the territory that later became
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ITALIAN
AMERICANS IN GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE
Italian
Americans have been part of the American political
scene for more than 200 years.
The words in
the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal" were
suggested to Thomas Jefferson by Filippo Mazzei, a
Tuscan physician, business man, pamphleteer and
Two of the ! original signers of the
Declaration of Independence were of Italian origin: William Paca
and Caesar Rodney. Paca was one of the first senators
in the
rain to
arrive just in time to vote for independence.
Onorio Razzolini was the first
Italian American ever to hold public office. He was the U.S. Armourer and Keeper of Stores in
In 1837,
John Phinizy, the son of an Italian immigrant named Ferdinando Finizzi, became the
first Italian American mayor of an American city:
Among the
first Italian American governors were William Paca,
who served
Francis B. Spinola was the first Italian American to serve in the U.S.
House of Representatives (1887-1891). A Democrat, Spinola
represented
In 1950,
John Orlando Pastore became the first Italian
American elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1976. In over 50
years in public office, he never lost an election. A Democrat from
Alfred E.
Smith, who was born Alfred Emanuele Ferrara, was the first Italian American
governor of
Charles
Joseph Bonaparte founded the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1908, built the
U.S. Navy into one of the strongest in the world and was the first Italian
American appointed to a cabinet position, serving as Secretary of the Navy and
later as U.S. Attorney General during Theodore Roosevelt's administration.
Michael A. Musmanno served on of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and
on the bench of the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, which tried the Nazi
officers after World War II.
The 1950
U.S.
Congressman Peter Rodino, the chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, led the Committee recommendation to impeach Richard M.
Nixon. Elected to Congress in 1948, Rodino also was a
key congressman supporting the law that made Columbus Day a national holiday
in! 1973.
Anthony J. Celebrezze was the first foreign-born mayor of
times. He
died in 1998 at age 88.
Gov. Ella Tambussi Grasso of
Geraldine
Ferraro was the first woman to ever run for national office in the
Mario Cuomo,
who was first elected governor of
The first
woman to be secretary of state and attorney general in
Brooklyn's Rudolph
W. Giuliani was elected mayor of
At the close of the 20th century, about eight percent, or 82 of the
mayors of the 1,056 major
When the
20th centuryh closed, 31 men and women of Italian
descent were serving in the U.S. Congress, including five senators and four
women.
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ITALIAN
AMERICAN INNOVATORS
Italian
Americans created many of the familiar items we enjoy every day.
The Jacuzzi
hot tub and spa were invented by the Jacuzzi family. whose
family of seven sons and six daughters came to
Mr. Coffee, the best-selling coffee maker in the world, was invented by Vince Marotta,
who also developed a better way extract oil from coffee beans and invented the
paper coffee filter. Since 1972, more than 50 million Mr. Coffees have been
sold. An estimated 10 billion Mr. Coffee paper filters are sold annually.
The convertible sofa was invented by Bernard Castro (1904-1991)
who came from
Chef Boyardee, the man behind the
nation's leading brand of spaghetti dinners, pizza mix, sauce and pasta, was
really Ettore Boiardi, an
Italian immigrant from Emilia Romagna. Boiardi, who
began as a chef's apprentice at age 11, eventually opened a restaurant in
The Big Mac, McDonald's sandwich classic, was invented by Jim Delligatti
owner of a McDonald's franchise in
Antonio Meucci invented the telephone in 1871, five
years before Alexander Graham Bell, but the impoverished inventor did not have
the funds (about $25.00) to file a patent.
The popular Radio Flyer red wagon was created by Antonio Pasin, an immigrant Italian carpenter in
1917. Pasin began making the wagon he called the
Liberty Coaster, after the Statue of Liberty, one of his first sights in
The chocolate bar exists today in part thanks to Domenico Ghirardelli.
In 1867, he perfected a method to make ground
chocolate. Today, Ghirardelli chocolate is sold all over the world, including
the square in
Mr. Peanut and the Planters Peanut Company were created by Amedeo Obici
and Mario
Peruzzi, two Italian immigrants. Obici,
who came to
The cough drop was created by Vincent R. Ciccone,
who began his career in the 1930s as a janitor at the Charms Candy Co. and
retired as the company's president and chief executive officer. Ciccone secured 20 patents, including the "Blow
Pop," a lolly pop with a bubble gum center. He
died at age 81 in 1997.
Charles
Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano,
invented the body-building technique called "Dynamic Tension" in 1921
and was dubbed "
The ice cream cone was invented by an Italian immigrant to
The three-way light bulb was invented by Alessandro Dandini,
who patented more than 22 inventions, including the rigid retractable automobile
top and the spherical system, which concentrates and extracts solar energy. Dandini came to the
Bernard Cousino (1902-1994) held more than 76
patents on audiovisual equipment, including the eight-track tape player and the
automobile tape deck. In 1994, just days before his death, he filed a patent
for a continuous loop video cassette that allows VCRs to play tapes repeatedly
without rewinding.
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For generations, Italian Americans have played major
roles as law officers in the
The man who pursued Billy the Kid was Charlie Angelo Siringo
(1855-1912), a famous Pinkerton detective, who also went after such legendary
outlaws as the Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy and their Hole-in-the-Wall gang,
which he infiltrated "undercover.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908 by Charles J. Bonaparte,
who was appointed attorney general by Theodore Roosevelt. Previously, he was
Secretary of the Navy and the first Italian American in the U.S. Cabinet. In
1993, Louis Freeh, whose mother's name is Bernice Chinchiola, became director of the FBI.
The first Italian American detective in
John Sirica was the judge who presided over the
Watergate! case for five years and ordered the
enforcement of the subpoena, which obliged President Richard Nixon to turn over
the infamous tapes. Judge Sirica's decision ultimately
led to President Nixon's resignation in 1974.
U.S. Congressman Peter Rodino chaired the House
Judiciary Committee in 1974. Under his leadership, the bipartisan committee
investigated President Richard Nixon's actions and recommended that he be
impeached. It would have been the second impeachment trial of a sitting
president in
Antonin Scalia is the first Italian
American to serve on the
Before becoming mayor of
Frank Serpico was a
Before becoming the first woman ever to run for national office, former U.S.
Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro served as assistant district attorney
in
The lead prosecutor in the government's case against crime boss John Gotti was Assistant U.S. District Attorney Diane Giacolone.
She presented a strong case during the 61/2 month trial in 1987, but Gotti was acquitted. Ten years later, Gotti's
henchman Sammy "The Bull" Gravano revealed
that he had fixed the jury.
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ITALIAN AMERICANS IN
From the Revolutionary War
During the American Revolution, three Italian regiments totaling 1,500 men
assisted the colonists. Also, Italian names are found on the rolls of colonial
American regiments.
An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Italians fought in! the
American Civil War for both the North and the South. The exact number is not
known since many names were Americanized.
Giuseppe
Garibaldi, who led
More than 100 Italian Americans served as officers in the Union forces during
the Civil War including 4 generals; 2 naval
commanders; 11 naval officers; 9 colonels and lieutenant colonels; and 28
majors and captains. The exact number is unknown because of the Americanization
of Italian! surnames and mixed marriages.
Four Italian Americans became generals during or following their Civil War
service: Luigi
Palma di Cesnola; Enrico Fardella;
Eduardo Ferrero; and Francis Spinola. Gen. Ferrero
of the 51st N.Y. Regiment, was among the first Union
officers to command black troops. Col. di Cesnola,
commander of the 4th NY Cavalry, received the U.S. Congressional Medal of
Honor. It was awarded in 1897.
Among the handful of survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 were
four Italian Americans: Lieutenant Charles De Rudio,
and enlisted men Augusto De Voto, Giovanni Casella
(listed as "John James") and John Martin, (born "Martini").
Bancroft Gerardi was the first Italian American to
attain the rank of U.S. Admiral. He and Louis Sartori
were
Over 300,000 Italian Americans, including 87,000 Italian nationals, served in the
Among the first
The first Italian American to receive the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor was
Luigi Palma di Cesnola, a Union general in the Civil
War, who later became the first director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
At least 39 Italian Americans have received the U.S. Congressional Medal of
Honor, the highest military award given by the
More than 1.5 million Italian Americans served in World War II, according to
the late Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. In a speech to the Italian American
War Veterans of America August 25, 1961, Rockefeller said that Italian
Americans constituted "more than 10 percent of the might of the American
forces in World War II.
John Basilone is the only enlisted Marine in
Captain Don
Gentile of the U.S. Army Air Force,
shot down over 30 Nazi planes during World War II. Eisenhower called the
24-year-old pilot a "one-man Air Force" and personally pinned the
Distinguished Service Cross on him. The "Ace of Aces" was born in
Four-star General Anthony Zinni, a
veteran Marine and the son of Italian immigrants, commanded Operation Desert
Fox, the
General Carl
Vuono was the first Italian American
to be appointed Army chief of staff. He served from 1987-1991 and was appointed
by President Ronald Reagan.
Prepared by: The National Italian American Foundation The
NIAF thanks military historian Rudy A. D'Angelo for
his assistance with this fact sheet.
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ITALIAN AMERI! CAN INFLUENCES IN
Most Americans know that the
THE
and across
THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL -- Using techniques handed down by stone carvers since
the Middle Ages, Italian artisans created the gargoyles and statues that
decorate the facade of
THE
UNION STATION -- Italian construction workers helped build
METRO --
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ITALIAN AMERICAN WOMEN TRAIL BLAZERS
Italian American women have led the way for women in business, politics, labor
and many other fields.
The first American saint was Mother Frances Cabrini, who founded
the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart and recruited over 4,000 sisters to
aid her efforts. Mother Cabrini founded 14 American colleges, 98 schools, 28
orphanages and eight hospitals. She emigrated to the
The first woman to run for national office was Geraldine Ferraro,
who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1984. Mrs. Ferraro also
served in Congress, representing a district in
The first woman ever elected governor in her own right was Ella T. Grasso
of
In 1998, Patricia
Fili-Krushel became the president of
ABC Television and the first woman ever to head a major network.
The first woman ever toedit The Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA) in its 116-year history is Catherine De Angelis, M.D.
Vice dean at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she became a nurse,
then put herself through college and medical school. A pediatrician and child
advocate, she was born in
Penny
Marshall (nee Carole Penny Masciarelli)
has made a remarkable transition from star of th! e hit TV series Laverne
& Shirley to one of the few women directors in
The first American singer to perform at
Mary Lou Retton was the first American woman gymnast
ever to win a Gold medal. At the 1984 Olympics in
At age 2! 4, Bonnie
Tiburzi became the first woman pilot
in commercial aviation history. She was hired by American Airlines in 1973. Her
book Takeoff, tells her story.
Sister Blandina Segale
founded the first public school in
In the early 1900s, Angela Bambace, an 18-year-old
Italian American woman who worked in a shirtwaist factory in
ILGWU. She retired in 1972.
Rosie the
Riveter, who represented the millions of American women who
took men's places in factories during World War II was
Rosie Bonavita of
Celeste Lizio, who came to
Debra DiMaio was the six-time Emmy-winning
producer of the Oprah Winfrey show. She resigned in 1994 after serving as
Oprah's executive producer since 1986.
In 1950, Dr.
Margaret J. Giannini founded the
Mental Retardation Institute in
The National Organization of Women (NOW) was turned around by Eleanor Cutri Smeal, who
was elected president of the organization in 1970 and within two years made NOW
the world's largest women's organization with 100,000 members.
In 1974, Betty
Della Corte established one of the first battered women's
shelter and treatment programs in the nation. Her Faith House Agencies in
Suzette
Charles, born Suzette De Gaetano, was the
first Italian American to win the Miss America title as the second runner up
and replaced Vanessa Williams in the 1984 contest.
Maria Teresa
Cafarelli de Francisi was
the model for "Miss Liberty," which appeared on the one-dollar silver
coins that circulated in the
Maria Botto and her husband, Pietro opened their home in
Artist
Georgia O'Keeffe was of Italian descent. Her mother was Ida Totto
and the artist was named for her maternal grandfather, Giorgio Totto, who was born in
The Congress
of Italian American Organizations (CIAO), based in
Patricia de
Stacy Harrison (b. de Stasio) in 1997 became the
first Italian American ever elected co-chair of the Republican National
Committee. A businesswoman, and author, de Stacy Harrison set as her mission
bringing more women and minorities into the pa! rty.
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ITALIAN
AMERICANS IN WORLD WAR II
Few people
are aware that more than half a million Italians living in the
Shortly
after the
From
February through October 1942, the
As
"enemy aliens," Italians were required to register at the nearest
post office, carry identification cards, and report all job changes. They could
not travel more than five miles from their homes, had to adhere to curfews, and
were forbidden to own guns, cameras, and short-wave radios.
The Army
forced more than 100
The
restrictions caused many Italians to lose their jobs and limited the freedom of
movement of thousands of others, including a fisherman named Giuseppe DiMaggio,
who could not visit the
During World
War II, an estima! ted 1.2 million Americans of Italian descent served in
the
The
Immigration and Naturalization Service held nearly 3,300 Italians in internment
camps for varying lengths of time during the war.
During the
same period, the mayors of two of
For more
information, see "The Unknown Internment" by Stephen Fox. The book is
available from the author in
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The strong
American interest in Christopher Columbus has produced the largest number of
The first
mention of a
In
The oldest
tribute to
The newest
monument to
The oldest
monument to
The largest
and most imposing monument to
Among the
most singular monuments are: the Columbus Doors on the U.S. Capitol in
cast in 1860
and modeled after Lorenzo Ghiberti's doors to the baptistry
in
the statue of
Most of the
monuments to
Many
American monuments to
The most
unusual portrayal of
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Prepared by: The National Italian American Foundation
------------
Suggested Bibliography on Italian American History
Amfitheatrof, Erik. The Children of
Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted.
Gambino, Richard. Blood of My
Blood.
Iorizzo, Luciano J., and Mondello,
Salvatore. The Italian Americans.
LaGumina,
Salvatore J., and Frank J. Cavaioli,
Salvatore Primeggia, Joseph Varacalli,
eds. The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia.
Mangione, Jerre and Ben Morreale. La Storia.
Carl Pescosolido and Pamela
Gleason. The Proud Italians. 193
pages with photographs on what world owes the Romans and Italians. (Available exclusively through the NIAF. $19.95
hardcover; $13.00 paperback.
Schiavo, Giovanni. Four Centuries of Italian American
History. 328-page history of Italians in
718/351-8800.
Talese, Gay. Unto the Sons.
Knopf, 1982.A comprehensive history of the conditions that prompted the
author's
family, along with million! s of other Italians to
emigrate to America as well as a personal memoir of what is meant to grow up
Italian in America.
For prices and list of books sold through the NIAF, send a stamped, self-addressed
envelope to:
NIAF PUBLICATIONS
1860 -
(Sorry, no telephone requests.)
http://www.niaf.org/research/
The
ANNOTICO Reports
Can
be Viewed, and are Archived at:
Italia
USA: http://www.ItaliaUSA.com (Formerly Italy
at St Louis)
Italia Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com
Annotico
Email: annotico@earthlink.net