Today is the REAL Cristofero Columbo Day

In his honor here is a reminder of how much the USA owes to Cristofero Columbo & my other paisans:

Columbo Coat of Arms

Some famous (& infamous) Italiano-Americanos:

William Paca and Caesar Rodney, signers of the Declaration of Independence. (& don't forget, without Caesar Rodney's returning to Congress, the Declaration might not have been adopted in the 1st place.)
Michael A. Musmanno, Judge at the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal.
Jacuzzi Hot Tub - Jacuzzi family
Convertible sofa - Bernard Castro
Chef Boyardi - Ettore Boiardi
The Big Mac - Jim Delligatti
Telephone five years before Alexander Graham Bell by Antonio Meucci.
Radio Flyer red wagon - Antonio Pasin
"America" named after Amerigo Vespucci
Planters Peanuts - Amedo Obici & Mario Peruzzi
Charles Atlas - real name Angelo Siciliano
Ice cream cone - Italo Marcioni
Politicians# - Tom Tancredo, New York City Mayors Rudy Giuliani & Fiorelio LaGuardia
Gangsters - Al Capone, Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello, Cosa Nostra aka Mafia including the 5 Families (such as Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, Carlo Gambino) Charles "Lucky" Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania) et al
Supreme Court Justice - Antonin Scalia, Sam Alito
Sheriff Maricopa County, Arizona - Joe Arpaio

Sports - Joe DiMaggio, Joe Montana

Authors - Mario Puzo, Gay Talese, Nicholas Pileggi, Evan Hunter aka Ed MacBain (born Salvatore Lombino)

Singers/Actors - Mario Lanza, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darrin (Walden Robert Perciville Cassotto), Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Lou Monte, Connie Francis (nee Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero), Al Martino, Madonna Ciccone, Jimmy Durante, Don Ameche (nee Dominic Felix Amici buried here in DBQ) who played Alexander Graham Bell*, Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito, Pat Cooper (Pasquale Caputo), Kaye Ballard (Balotta), Al Pacino, Dom DeLuise, Talia Shire, Joe Mantegna

Catholics - Mother Angelica (Rita Rizzo), Justin Cardinal Rigali

Explorers besides Columbus - Giovanni da Verrazzano, John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), Amerigo Vespucci

Others - Lee Iacocca, Albert Romolo Broccoli, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Neil Cavuto, Mary Ann Esposito, Judge Andrew Paolo Napolitano

& WAY TOO MANY OTHERS TO LIST

People everyone thinks is Italiano-Americano but aren't - Abe Vigoda

& then there is the most famous & important Italiano-Americano of them all - ME!

Some other historical facts:

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence the term, "all men are created equal," which he paraphrased from an neighbor and pamphleteer friend Filippo Mazzei, who wrote, "all men are by nature equally free and independent."

World War Two 12 million Americans in arms to defend the USA. Of which 10% of the 12 million were Americans of Italian ancestry.

600,000 Italian Americans were declared internal enemies who had to register at the post office, could not travel beyond five miles from their homes, not allowed to own guns, cameras, or short wave radios. 3,000 were ordered to internment camps. They were not permitted to visit their sons and daughters in the military stationed on military bases. (Italian American internment)

Washington, DC "DC" meaning District of Columbia. Columbia meaning Christopher Columbus.

Lincoln Memorial carved by Attilio Piccirilli and his five brothers.

America comes from Amerigo Vespucci.

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*Godfather III reference

# I am intentially excluding certain disgrazia from the main list ie Nancy Pelosi & Geraldine Ferraro