16 Facts About Generoso Pope

Generoso Pope was an Italian-American businessman and the owner of a chain of Italian-language newspapers in major American cities.

Generoso Pope was the son of farmers Fortunato and Fortunata Papa.

Generoso Pope's last name is an anglicized version of his birth name, "Papa" being the Italian form of address for the Pope.

In 1912, Generoso Pope established Generoso Pope Foods to import Italian foods.

Generoso Pope 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.

Generoso Pope doubled its circulation to 200,000 in New York City, making it the largest Italian-language daily in the country.

Generoso Pope purchased additional papers in New York, including Il Bollettino della Sera, Il Corriere d'America, and the Philadelphia daily L'Opinione.

Generoso Pope became the chief source of political, social, and cultural information for the community.

Generoso Pope 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.

Generoso Pope founded the Columbus Day Parade in New York City, which is still the world's largest Columbus Day Parade.

Generoso Pope served as chairman of the Italian Division of the Democratic National Committee in 1936, and helped persuade the president to take a neutral attitude over Italy's invasion of Ethiopia.

Generoso Pope broke with Benito Mussolini in 1941 and enthusiastically supported the American war effort.

Generoso Pope died of a heart ailment at age 59 in April 1950.

Generoso Pope was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City, within a private mausoleum adjacent to Central Avenue, the cemetery's main road.

The entire Generoso Pope family is interred at Woodlawn except for Gene, Jr.

The Generoso Pope Foundation is located in Tuckahoe, New York.