Thirty-One Days of Italians

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.

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] NEW The Life of Enrico Fermi [Dept. of Energy] NEW Enrico Fermi’s Life [Explore Nuclear] NEW Case Files [The Franklin Institute] NEW Inventor of the World’s First Nuclear Reactor 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 short 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.” In 2013, he was inducted to the National Speedskating Hall of Fame.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 NEW   There’s So Much More to the Zamboni Story than you Ever Imagined This Is How the First Zamboni Machine Was Invented NEW   How the Zamboni Changed the Game for Ice Rinks NEW   How the Zamboni Revolutionized Fun on the Ice Frank J. Zamboni  [National Inventors Hall of Fame] Frank Zamboni  [U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame] Zamboni  [Ice Skating Institute Hall of Fame Award] NEW   Frank Zamboni  [US Speedskating Hall of Fame] Celebrating the Birth of Frank Zamboni  [YouTube Video] History of the Zamboni (ice-resurfacing vehicle) NHL