Thirty-One Days of Italians
Celebrating Italian heritage by acknowledging the accomplishments
of Italians and Italian Americans in America
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
TECHNOLOGY
Enrico Fermi [HM] (1901-1954)
Recognized as one of the twentieth century’s great scientists, Fermi received the Noble Prize in
physics in 1938 for discovering new radioactive elements and the nuclear reactions caused by
slow neutrons. Fermi’s work heralded the age of nuclear power that now provides energy, and
is used in medical treatments and agricultural and industrial applications.
Fermi was born in Rome, and showed an early interest in science and mathematics. With a
natural inclination towards physics, he received a scholarship to study the discipline, and at 27
became a professor in the field.
After Fermi received the Nobel Prize in 1938, he emigrated to America, and continued his
research in nuclear power generation, first as a professor at Columbia University in New York
and in 1946 at the University of Chicago, where he became a professor at the Institute of
Nuclear Studies (now the Enrico Fermi Institute). Fermi was part of the Manhattan Project
during World War II.
In 1956, President Eisenhower established the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award in honor of the
Nobel Prize recipient. The National Accelerator Laboratory, established by the U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission in 1967, was renamed Fermilab in 1974. In 1976, Fermi was inducted into
the Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2001, a United States postage stamp was issued to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of Fermi’s death. Fermi’s applications in experimentation
and theoretical physics led him to become the first to split an atom. The element fermium is
named after him.
Enrico Fermi [Atomic Heritage Foundation]
The Enrico Fermi Institute
The Nobel Prize (1938)
Fermilab
The Manhattan Project
Voices of the Manhattan Project
Fermium
Guglielmo Marconi [HM] (1874-1937)
Born in Bologna (region of Emilia-Romagna), the school-aged Marconi received his early education, mostly in his interests
of science and math, by private tutors in the family home. Throughout his late teens, he become more interested in
wireless communication and studied the work of others; his experiments with Hertzian waves led him to conducting
experiments at the family villa in Italy. It was in England, though, where in 1896, he received his first patent. The British
government was interested in communication between land and ships at sea, and Marconi’s work proved to be effective.
Marconi did not immigrate to America, but in 1903, he established a wireless station in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts,
allowing President Theodore Roosevelt to send a Morse code message to King Edward VII of England – the first
transatlantic message from a U. S. President to a European ruler. Marconi’s wireless communications (known as
Marconigrams) were essential for transmitting messages to and from ships, and his application expanded from cruise
ships to battleships when World War I began.
A recipient of numerous honors and awards from several countries, Marconi shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in physics, but
was acknowledged for his ability to put together a "practical, usable system" for wireless transmission of radio waves over
long distances. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1988 and the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1975.
Guglielmo Marconi
[Engineering and Technology History]
Guglielmo Marconi Timeline
Personal Reflections of “An Italian Adventurer”
[PDF]
Guglielmo Marconi: Wireless Telegraphy
The Marconi Society History
Commercial Wireless Telegraphy
The Nobel Prize
(1909)
Radio Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Antonio Meucci [HM] (1808-1889)
Scientist, mechanical engineer, stage technician, business-owner, and the original holder of the patent for the telephone,
in 2002, Meucci was recognized in a resolution by the U. S. House of Representatives stating "… his work in the invention
of the telephone should be acknowledged."
Meucci was born in Florence (region of Tuscany) and at 13 attended the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in
Florence, where he studied chemistry and mechanical engineering. While attending the Academy, he worked part-time for
the city as a stage technician, and later as an assistant to the chief engineer at the historic opera house, Teatro della
Pergola, where Meucci created a hearing device – a speaker on one end and a cone on the other – for communication
between the control room and stage.
In 1835, Meucci and his wife traveled from Italy to Cuba, where both worked in the theater – he was the chief engineer
and she was in charge of costume design. In Cuba, Meucci worked on numerous projects, including his “teletrofono” in
1849. A year later, he was in America, supporting his experimentation with the teletrofono by establishing various
businesses, including the first paraffin candle factory in America, and a lager beer brewery in a partnership with Giuseppe
Garibaldi. Meucci had befriended Garibaldi – who stayed with him in Staten Island – while he was exiled from Italy and
before he returned in 1854 to fight for the unification of the country.
Meucci continued with his teletrofono work, and when his wife became bed-ridden, he developed an electromagnetic
telephone so they could communicate between floors. In 1871, Meucci had limited funds and filed for a less expensive
preliminary patent for a sound telephone. The patent was renewed each year, but financial difficulties prevented him from
renewing it in December 1874. In April 1875, a patent for a Multiple Telegraph was granted to Alexander Graham Bell.
Meucci initiated a court action and it was headed to the Supreme Court, but Meucci died before a decision was made. In
2002, he was officially recognized by the United States House of Representatives as the “true inventor of the telephone.”
Antonio Meucci Revisited
Antonio Meucci – Questions and Answers
Antonio Meucci's "Teletrofono": The True Story Behind the Invention of the Telephone
Hearing Through Wires: The Physiophony of Antonio Meucci
U.S. House of Representatives Says Alexander Graham Bell Did Not Invent the Telephone
Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
Frank J. Zamboni (1901-1988)
Combining
his
mechanical
skills
and
entrepreneurial
spirit,
Frank
Zamboni
was
involved
in
several
family
businesses
in
southern
California
before
he
would
develop
the
machine
that
changed
the
ice
sports
and
ice-skating
world.
Born
in
Eureka,
Utah,
Zamboni
was
a
toddler
when
his
parents
bought
a
farm
in
Idaho,
where
he
developed
his
mechanical
skills.
In
his
mid-teens
he
worked
as
a
mechanic,
and
when
the
family
moved
to
California,
Zamboni
worked
with
his
brothers
first
with
automobiles
and
then
as
a
blacksmith.
He
went
to
trade
school
in
Chicago
to
learn
about
electrical
systems,
and
in 1922 started an electric and plumbing business with his brother.
They
expanded
their
business
to
include
ice
making,
but
with
the
advent
of
air
conditioning
and
refrigeration,
in
1939
the
brothers
expanded
into
recreation
sports
and
built
Paramount
Iceland,
one
of
the
largest
ice
skating
rinks
in
the
country
and
the
first
with
a
floor
that
was
patented
for
its
distinct
design.
Soon
after,
it
was
covered
with
a
dome,
but
a
persistent
problem was maintaining the surface of ice.
In
1949,
Zamboni
received
a
basic
patent
for
a
machine
that
would
shave
the
ice,
remove
it,
and
apply
a
sheet
of
water
within
a
shirt
amount
of
time.
By
1954,
the
basic
design
had
been
improved,
a
patent
for
the
ice
resurfacer
was
issued,
and
ten
machines
had
been
sold
–
including
two
to
Olympic
figure
skating
star
and
actress
Sonia
Henie
and
one
to
the
Ice
Capades in 1952.
In
1960
six
machines,
three
specially
designed,
were
used
at
the
Winter
Olympics
in
Squaw
Valley,
California.
The
following
year,
Zamboni
became
a
charter
member
of
the
Ice
Skating
Institute
of
America;
and
later
became
its
president.
In
the
early
1970s,
he
developed
–
by
request
–
the
Astro-Zamboni,
a
machine
that
removed
water
from
artificial
turf
in
sports stadiums, and later developed – again by request – a machine that removed paint from the turf.
Among
many
other
awards
and
recognitions,
Zamboni
was
inducted
into
the
Ice
Skating
Hall
of
Fame
in
1965;
and
posthumously
in
2000
in
the
U.S.
Figure
Skating
Hall
of
Fame,
and
in
2007
in
the
World’s
Figure
Skating
Museum
and
Hall
of
Fame
“for
his
outstanding
contributions
to
the
sport
of
figure
skating,”
In
2007,
he
was
inducted
into
the
National
Inventors
Hall
of
Fame
for
“the
ice-resurfacing
machine
that
bears
his
name
to
this
day.”
His
inventions
resulted
in
fifteen
U.
S.
patents
“ranging
from
refrigeration
innovation
to
ice
resurfacing
machines.”
Frank
J.
Zamboni
&
Co.,
has
four
locations in North America and Europe and is in its third generation of family ownership and operation.
The Zamboni Story
Frank J. Zamboni
[National Inventors Hall of Fame]
Frank Zamboni
[U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame]
Zamboni
[Ice Skating Institute Hall of Fame Award]
Celebrating the Birth of Frank Zamboni
[YouTube Video]
This Is How the First Zamboni Machine Was Invented
History of the Zamboni (ice-resurfacing vehicle) NHL
