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CONGRESS PASSES HR269, RECOGNIZING ANTONIO MEUCCI AS THE TRUE INVENTOR OF THE TELEPHONE

June 11, 2002, the United States Congress passes Resolution 269, recognizing Italian-American inventor Antonio Meucci as the true inventor of the telephone. This Congressional decree comes months after it was presented by House member Vito Follella, a Republican from New York and well-spoken advocate for the Italian-American community. In support of this move by Mr. Fossella, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, a small, Gothic Revival style home in Staten Island, NY, where Meucci spent the last half of his life, immediately vocalized its position in the fight for its patron's recognition. Led by the example of Italian Professor Dr. Basillo Catania of Italy and Justice Dominick Massaro of New York, the museum, owned and operated by the Order Sons of Italy in America since 1919, has adopted the quest for rightful credit as its own.

This resolution is only the most recent contribution to a long trail of evidence and support for the Meucci cause. In the trial that began December 7, 1885 between Antonio Meucci and the Bell Company, indisputable evidence was somehow dismissed in favor of a young, suave English-speaking Scotsman, represented by a company who, by 1887, had invested almost 60 million dollars in the nation's economy. Suddenly, Meucci's caveat of 1871 had no value, nor did his detailed notes, predating Bell's invention by decades. Even a written and signed letter of support from the great American inventor, Thomas Edison was not enough to derail the opposition's confuse-and-digress tactic. There were nearly 50 declarations made in favor of Meucci, demonstrating that he was developing and using telephone technology decades before Bell. The final decision, however, was a personal indictment, declaring the soft-spoken, trusting, often gullible Meucci as a delusional fool with wild dreams and a string telephone.

"He died in full belief of the priority of his claim as inventor of the telephone, which, during the lucid intervals of his sickness, he declared must be recognized sooner or later," read the New York Herald on October 19, 1899, one day after Meucci's death in Staten Island, penniless and betrayed. It is, indeed, later, not sooner. One hundred thirteen years later, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum has stood to realize the official recognition for which they have worked so tirelessly, in conjunction with other Italian-Americans. We represent proudly our patron and our heritage, and will see this magnificent achievement through to its completion. This is a victory for all immigrants, in a nation of immigrants; it is for the entire country to acknowledge and empower itself, knowing the strength of justice.

Meucci's legacy has been preserved in the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum of Rosebank, Staten Island, where Meucci's models are on display, as well as his death mask, and numerous drawings and photographs illustrating the life of this brilliant inventor. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum would like to invite all questions and comments concerning the matter, regardless of content, to be submitted to the curator. Please do not hesitate to visit the museum at 420, Tompkins Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10305, or email Emily Gear, Curator/Director at GMMuseum@aol.com.

Acknowledging the efforts of Congressman Fossella in a joint statement, John Dabbene, Chairman of the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, and Joseph Sciame, President and CEO of the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, applauded the "dedication and perserverance of the Staten Island Congressman in leading the support and passage of this most important Congressional Resolution." Meucci advocates now await the passage of a Senate bill and finally the signature of the President of the United States