Generoso Pope
| Generoso Pope | |
|---|---|
Generoso Pope
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| Born |
Generoso Papa April 1, 1891 Arpaise, Benevento, Italy |
| Died | April 28, 1950 (aged 59) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Founder of the Generoso Pope Foundation Entrepreneur Business Man Philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Richichi (1896–1998) |
| Children | Fortunato Pope Anthony Pope Generoso Pope, Jr. |
| Parent(s) | Fortunato Papa Fortunata Papa |
| Relatives | Carlo Papa (brother) Maria Papa ( sister ) |
Generoso Pope (April 1, 1891 – April 28, 1950) was an Italian-American businessman and the owner of a chain of Italian-language newspapers in major American cities.
Generoso was born with the name Generoso Antonio Pompilio Carlo Papa. He was the son of farmers Fortunato and Fortunata Papa. His last name is an anglicized version of his birth name, "Papa" being the Italian form of address for the Pope. After coming to the United States, he fathered three sons with his wife Catherine (1896-1998). His eldest son, Fortunato "Fortunate", (1918–1996) graduated from Columbia University and became an executive in the family construction business. Anthony (1919–2005) who was the middle son, took over the family business and quadrupled the size of Colonial Sand and Stone Company in less than four years. Generoso Pope, Jr. (1927–1988) graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology at age 19 and purchased what was to become the National Enquirer in 1952, two years after his father's death.
Generoso Pope arrived in the United States at age 15 in 1906 and found work carrying water for construction crews. He rose to construction supervisor and, eventually, owner of Colonial Sand & Stone, which was the largest sand and gravel company in the world.
In 1912, Generoso established Pope Foods to import Italian foods. He bought the Italian-language daily newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano in 1928 for $2,050,000, which would convert to $261,000,000 in the modern day economy. He doubled its circulation to 200,000 in New York City, making it the largest Italian-language daily in the country. He purchased additional papers in New York, including Il Bollettino della Sera, Il Corriere d'America, and the Philadelphia daily L'Opinione. He also owned the radio station, WHOM. He became the chief source of political, social, and cultural information for the community.
A conservative Democrat who ran the Columbus Day parade and admired Mussolini, Pope was the most powerful enemy of anti-Fascism among Italian Americans. He was closely associated with Tammany Hall politics in New York, and his newspapers played a vital role in securing the Italian vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt's Democratic tickets. With his presidential friendships, Generoso was able to make Columbus Day into a national holiday in 1934. He also founded the Columbus Day Parade in New York City, which is still the world's largest Columbus Day Parade.
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