October 1: The Italian Immigrant
A day to honor every Italian
who journeyed to America from Italy.
October 2: Amadeo Pietro Giannini
Established the branch 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: Gian Carlo
Menotti
Created the first opera for radio, and founder of the Spoleto
Festival of Two Worlds in Italy and Spoleto Festival USA in South Carolina.
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: Henry Mancini
Awarded 20 Grammys and 4 Oscars
for his film and television scores.
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: Mario Andretti
Record-setting race car driver with over 100 wins, and the only
driver to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500, and Formula One.
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 twentieth 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: Geraldine Ferraro
The first woman nominated on
a major party ticket as Vice President of the United States.
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: Ezio Pinza
Considered by many to be the world’s greatest bass baritone of the early
twentieth century.
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
Father Michael Accolti
Helen Barolini
Ernest and Julio Gallo
Domenico Ghirardelli
Vince Lombardi
Frank Zamboni
©2008 Janice Therese Mancuso
