Sons
of Italy Supports Proposed Legislation To Recognize Meucci
Press Contact: Diane E. Crespy, (202) 547-2900 dcrespy@osia.org
For Immediate Release:
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2002 - The Order Sons of Italy in
America (OSIA), the nation's largest and longest existing
organization representing men and women of Italian heritage,
is strongly supporting a bill currently before Congress
that recognizes the achievements of Antonio Meucci, regarded
by a growing number of historians as the true inventor
of the telephone.
The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives
by Congressman Vito Fossella, Jr. (R-N.Y.) late last year.
"[This bill] is important to the Italian-American community
and to the history of America because it rightly acknowledges
Meucci's invention of the telephone, a fact that is often
forgotten in history lessons. We strongly support the
passing of this resolution" wrote OSIA National President
Robert A. Messa in a letter to Fossella dated Jan. 23.
In October 2001, the House of Representatives passed the
Sense of Congress Resolution 269, sponsored by Fossella
chronicling Meucci's efforts to patent his invention.
A Sense of Congress Resolution expresses a congressional
opinion, but carries no legal authority.
Meucci (1808-1889), who was born near Florence, came to
New York City in 1850 and settled on Staten Island where
he supported his family by making candles and other projects.
In 1857 he finalized plans for an invention he called
a teletrofono that would carry the human voice great distances.
Unable to pay the patent fees and in poor health, he was
forced to abandon the project, which Alexander Graham
Bell was given credit for nearly 20 years later in 1876.
A subsequent lawsuit against Bell revealed that he had
worked in the same laboratory at Western Union Telegraph
Company that had a model of Meucci's invention and its
designs.
OSIA owns and operates the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum in
the inventor's former home on Staten Island, where Meucci's
friend Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi lived from 1850
to 1854. The OSIA Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is one of only
two ethnic museums in the United States that are designated
national historic sites.
OSIA urges all members and supporters to contact their
members of Congress, asking for support of House Resolution
269 recognizing Meucci's contributions. To o find out
the name, address, and telephone number of your congressional
representative, call Capitol Hill at (202) 224-3121 or
visit the Legislative & Policy Issues section of OSIA.org
at www.osia.org/public/contactcongress.htm.
A sample letter of support is also included on the site.
Established in 1905 in Little Italy, N.Y., OSIA now has
more than 700 chapter in 35 states and the District of
Columbia, and an estimated 575,000 members and supporters
in all 50 states and two U.S. territories. To learn more
about OSIA, visit us on the Web at www.osia.org or contact
us via e-mail at nationaloffice@osia.org.
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