October 1: The Italian Immigrant
A day to honor every Italian
who journeyed to America from Italy.
October 2: Amadeo Pietro Giannini
Established the banking system
in America.
October 3: Guglielmo Marconi
Known as the Father of Radio
for his experiments with long distance wireless transmissions.
October 4: Filippo Mazzei
Supporter of American freedom
during American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson’s inclusion of “all men are created equal” into the Declaration
of Independence is a paraphrase of Mazzei’s “All men are by nature equally free and independent.”
October 5: Antonio
Meucci
Original holder of the patent
for the forerunner of today’s telephone.
October 6: Joe
DiMaggio
“The Yankee Clipper”
led the NY Yankees to nine World Championships.
October 7: Mario Lanza
Renowned tenor and film star
in the mid-1950s.
October 8: Ella T. Grasso
First woman in America to become
state governor in her own right.
October 9: Father Pietro
Bandini
Missionary for Native Americans.
In 1898 established Tontitown, “a perfect example of colonization," in Arkansas.
October 10: Enrico Fermi
Discovered radioactive elements
that heralded the nuclear age.
October 11: Antonio Pasin
Creator of Radio Flyer wagon.
October 12: Christopher
Columbus
Navigator that changed the world,
opening trade routes and allowing immigration from Europe to the Americas.
October 13: Maria Montessori,
M.D.
Developed an educational method
for teaching children.
October 14: Domenico
Ghirardelli
His company developed the Broma
process, a method of extracting cocoa butter from the cacao beans, that is now used by most chocolate manufacturers.
October 15: Lee Iacocca
Responsible for the turnaround
of Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s and established The Iacocca Foundation, which provides grants to fund diabetes
research.
October 16: Anthony Fauci
One of the most cited researchers
and scientist in the world.
October 17: Mother Francis
Xavier Cabrini
First American citizen to become
a saint.
October 18: Enrico Caruso
World’s most acclaimed
tenor in the early 1900s.
October 19: Yogi Berra
Baseball player, manager, and famous for his
quotes, known as "yogi-isms."
October 20: Frank Capra
Acclaimed 20th Century
film director, best known for It’s a Wonderful Life.
October 21: Arturo Toscanini
One of the world’s greatest
orchestra conductors.
October 22: Giovanni da Verrazzano
First European explorer to enter the harbor of
New York.
October 23: Robert Mondavi
Revolutionized the American wine industry.
October 24: Fiorello La Guardia
First three-term Mayor of New York City. Credited
for changing its landscape and building the foundation for the city’s growth after the Depression.
October 25: Amerigo Vespucci
Namesake of America.
October 26: Giovanni Caboto
Explored the northeastern American continent
for England.
October 27: Constantino Brumidi
Known as the “Michelangelo of the [U.S.]
Capitol.”
October 28: Rocky Marciano
The only Heavyweight World Champion
to retire undefeated.
October 29: Father Geno
Baroni
Founder and president of the
National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs and founded the Urban Rehabilitation Corporation, the forerunner to Housing Counseling
Services.
October 30: Andrea Palladio
"Father of Architecture," wrote The Four Books on Architecture, the most famous and influential books on architecture of all time, and still in
print.
October 31: Your Favorite
Italian
Celebrate someone not on the
list, but greatly admired.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Mario Andretti
Geraldine Ferraro
Ernest and Julio Gallo
Henry Mancini
Ezio Pinza
Francis Rogallo
R.A. Salvatore
Frank Zamboni
©2007 Janice Therese Mancuso
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