Thirty-One Days of Italians
Celebrating Italian heritage by acknowledging the accomplishments
of Italians and Italian Americans in America
The Quick Facts List of Thirty-One Days of Italians provides a date and name to celebrate
for each day in October when Italian Americans honor their culture and heritage.
For biographies and resources, go to the Index of Names, scroll to the selected name,
and click on the link to Category. (Names are in alphabetical order within each Category.)
Brief Biographies of Honorary Members
Honorary Member: (HM)
October 1: The Italian Immigrant [HM] A day to honor the Italian immigrants who
journeyed to America.
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:
Giacomo
Costantino
Beltrami
Explored
northern
Minnesota
in
1823,
searching
for
the
source
of
the
Mississippi
River
and
wrote
a
book
describing
his
adventures.
October 7: Giovanni Schiavo
Influential in implementing Italian American studies.
October
8:
Frank
Capra
Acclaimed
20th
century
film
director,
best
known
for
It’s
A
Wonderful Life
.
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:
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
15:
Luigi
Del
Bianco
Chief
carver
of
Mt.
Rushmore,
and
responsible
for
adding
the final details to the faces on the monument.
October
16:
Giovanni
da
Verrazzano
First
European
explorer
to
enter
the
harbor
of
New York.
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: Daniela Gioseffi
Award winning poet, writer, lecturer, and educator.
October 20: Mario Lanza
Renowned tenor and film star in the mid-1950s.
October 21: Arturo Toscanini [HM]
One of the world’s greatest orchestra conductors.
October
22:
Jacuzzi
Family
The
development
of
their
hydrotherapy
pump
led
to
the
production of the first whirlpool tub.
October 23: Sabato Rodia
Creator and builder of Watts Towers.
October 24: Robert Mondavi
Greatly influenced the wine industry in America.
October 25: Amerigo Vespucci [HM]
Namesake of America.
October
26:
Amedeo
Obici
Founder
of
Planters
Peanuts
and
developer
of
a
new
way
to
roast and blanch peanuts.
October
27:
Constantino
Brumidi
[HM]
Known
as
the
“Michelangelo
of
the
[U.S.]
Capitol.”
October
28:
Charles
J.
Bonaparte
Attorney
General
during
Theodore
Roosevelt’s
administration;
he
established
a
special
investigative
force
that
became
the
Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
October
29:
Grucci
Family
Fireworks
by
Grucci
is
one
of
the
oldest
fireworks
companies
in America and one of the most respected in the world.
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 special and greatly admired.
The purpose of this website is
to educate others about the
significant contributions that
those of Italian heritage have
made to America.
Biographies range from one to
several paragraphs providing
an overview, and links to a
collection of selected
resources are provided for
more in-depth research.
The information is intended to
be shared and distributed;
however, the work in this
website is a result of massive
hours of researching,
organizing, creating, and
writing. If you use any of the
information on this website,
please give proper credit by
citing Thirty-One Days of
Italians and adding a link
to this website. Thank you.
jtmancuso@earthlink.net
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, ©2023 Janice Therese Mancuso.
At publication, all links were active.
Copyright 2007-2024
Janice Therese Mancuso
2020-21 List of Names
Frank Capra
Daniela Gioseffi
Giacomo Costantino Beltrami
