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October 2009 - The Thirty-One Days of Italians
The 2009 Quick Facts List of Thirty-One Days of Italians provides a date and name to celebrate for each day in October during Italian American Heritage Month.
For more information about each person, go to the Index of Names, select the person, and click on his or her Category link. Then scroll down to locate name.
[HM]: Honorary Member
October 1: The Italian Immigrant [HM]
A day to honor every Italian who journeyed to America from Italy.
October 2: Amadeo Pietro Giannini [HM]
Established the branch banking system in America.
October 3: Guglielmo Marconi [HM]
Known as the Father of Radio for his experiments with long distance wireless transmissions.
October 4: Filippo Mazzei [HM]
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 [HM]
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: Helen Barolini
Award winning author of more than 50 literary works.
October 9: Father Pietro Bandini [HM]
Missionary for Native Americans. In 1898 established Tontitown, “a perfect example of colonization," in Arkansas.
October 10: Enrico Fermi [HM]
Discovered radioactive elements that heralded the nuclear age.
October 11: Antonio Pasin [HM]
Created Radio Flyer wagon.
October 12: Christopher Columbus [HM]
Navigator that changed the world, opening trade routes and immigration from Europe to the Americas.
October 13: Maria Montessori, M.D [HM]
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: John Ciardi
Poet laureate, etymologist, English professor, and radio host.
October 16: Vince Lombardi
Football icon.
October 17: Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini [HM]
First American citizen to become a saint.
October 18: Enrico Caruso [HM]
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 [HM]
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: Pietro di Donato
Author of the Italian American classic Christ in Concrete.
October 24: Fiorello La Guardia
First three-term Mayor of New York City, and credited for changing its landscape and building the foundation for the city’s growth after the Depression.
October 25: Amerigo Vespucci [HM]
Namesake of America.
October 26: Geraldine Ferraro
First woman to be nominated on a major party ticket as Vice President of the United States.
October 27: Constantino Brumidi [HM]
Known as the “Michelangelo of the (U.S.) Capitol.”
October 28: Daniela Gioseffi
Award winning poet, writer, lecturer, and educator.
October 29: Frank Sinatra
International entertainment icon.
October 30: Andrea Palladio [HM]
"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.
Copyright 2009 Janice Therese Mancuso
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission except when published with this credit: Excerpt from Thirty-One Days of Italians, ©2009 Janice Therese Mancuso.
