8 Immigrants Who Shaped America

Immigrants Who Shaped America he "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...' From a sonnet by Emma Lazarus Engraved on a bronze plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty Since the very first days of our country, America has attracted brave, adventurous souls. People looking for freedom, for a better life. They immigrated to America, and brought the determination, energy, and creativity with them. Here are a few of the immigrants who helped make America great. SIERRA CLUB John Muir Father of the National Parks Born in 1838 in Scotland, his family emigrated to the US in 1849. He went on to found the The Sierra Club, and was instrumental in establishing the National Park system. Joseph Pulitzer Irving Berlin Namesake of the Wrote "White Christmas" Pulitzer Prizes and "God Bless America" Born in Russia in 1888, Berlin's family immi- grated to America when he was a young boy. Born in 1885 in Hungary, Pulitzer emigrated to the US and became publisher of the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the New York World. Pulitzer left Columbia University 2 million dollars in his will; the school later founded the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and organized the Pulitzer Prizes. Berlin later wrote some of America's best loved songs and shows, including White Christmas, God Bless America, Annie Get Your Gun, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and This is the Army, Mr. Jones. GoD BLESS AMERICA 70 Levi Strauss Levi's Founded the first blue jeans manufacturer Born in Bavaria, Germany Strauss immigrated to America when he was 18 years old. He went on to get a patent for his jeans design, and create one of America's most recognizable clothing brands. Albert Einstein Amedeo Obici Scientific Genius Founder of Planters Peanut Company Born in Ulm, Germany in 1879, Einstein moved to Switzerland at age 16 for better schooling and graduated from the Federal Institute of Technology a few years later. He wrote five papers, including the "Special Theory of Relativity" which considered motion and the speed of light. He also pub- lished his "General Theory of Relativity," a concept of a curved universe and its effect on light. In 1922, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. He was visiting Born in Venice, Italy in 1877, Obici was 12 years old when he arrived in America with his uncle's address tied to a button hole on his coat. He was misdirected and ultimately worked in a fruit and peanut store in Pennsyl- vania. He soon-after sold peanuts from a cart, earning enough money to bring his family to the US. In 1906, Obici started the Planters Peanut Company with Mario Peru- zzi, his future brother-in-law. Today, Planters Peanut is famous for Mr. Peanut, putting Suf- folk, VA on the map as "The Peanut Capital of the World." America in 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany, thus resulting in Einstein renouncing his German citizenship. He ad- vised President Roosevelt during World War Il on the atomic bomb and Germany's developments. PIANTERS RELATIVITY THE SPECIAL AND THE GENERAL THEORY ALBERT EINSTEIN William Bradford First Civil Authority to Designate Thanksgiving Born in 1596 in Yorkshire, England, Bradford sailed to the New World as an English settler of Plymouth Colony. After Governor John Carver died, Bradford served as Governor of Plymouth for 30 years. He upheld a peace treaty with the Pokanoket Indian Tribe, even though it created tensions with rival tribes. Bradford was instrumental in laying out and planning the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts as it is today. Wernher von Braun Father of Rocket Science Born in 1912 in Germany, von Braun was the leading figure for the development of rocket science during World War II. Ultimately, he came to America to work on the then-secret Operation Paperclip for the US Army. He went on to work for NASA as a rocket scien- tist and developer, being instrumental in taking the US to the moon. The von Braun crater is named after him. Von Braun estab- lished the National Space Institute (present-day National Space Society). Developed by Source: www.migrationinformation.org WEB RESULTS