Rev. Dr. Timothy P. Mitchell (1930-2012) was pastor of Flushing’s Ebenezer Baptist Church for 47 years, from 1961 until his retirement in 2008. His father, Rev. James B. Mitchell, had also been pastor of the church from 1930 to his death in 1947. Mitchell was born in Whitestone and graduated from Flushing High School. He continued his education at Queens College, Hartford University and the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. Prior to his position at Ebenezer, he served as pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church in Hartford. Mitchell had a strong interest in social justice and participated in many regional and national organizations, including the social service committee of the National Baptist Convention and the special affairs committee of the New England Baptist Missionary Convention. He marched on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and was one of the principal strategists of King’s Poor People’s Campaign in 1968. In his later years, Mitchell took on causes including police brutality and affordable housing for senior citizens. He also worked on the presidential campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson and the mayoral campaign of David Dinkins.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) was the 34th President of the United States, serving two terms from 1953-1961. Before serving as president he had a long military career including commanding the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942. In addition, he served as Supreme Commander of the troops invading France on D-Day, 1944. After the war, Eisenhower served as the President of Columbia University and in 1951 as the Supreme Commander of the newly assembled NATO forces. He ran for and won the Presidency in 1952, using the slogan “I like Ike”. As President he worked to reduce the strains of the Cold War, signing the Korean Truce in 1953. The death of Stalin in 1953 also allowed him to establish better relations with the Soviet Union. Domestically, Eisenhower was considered a moderate Republican and continued many of the New Deal and Fair Deal programs. He advocated for Civil Rights, sending troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to assure compliance with the orders of a Federal court to desegregate the schools. He also ordered the complete desegregation of the Armed Forces. He Mamie Geneva Doud in 1916.

Townsend Harris (1804-1878) was a merchant, educational leader, politician, and diplomat who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. Harris's negotiations with the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan at the time, led to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (commonly known as the Harris Treaty of 1858) and helped shape the future course of Japanese-Western trade and cultural relations. In 1847, he founded the Free Academy (now City College of New York), the first tuition-free, publicly funded university in the United States. Harris was born in the village of Sandy Hill (now Hudson Falls) in northern New York state. After moving to New York City, he became a successful merchant, importing porcelain and silk from China. From 1846 to 1848, he served as president of the Board of Education. Free education was favored at the time by the City’s progressive leaders, and Harris was an advocate for the founding of a university open to all. In a letter published in The Morning Courier and New York Enquirer on March 15, 1847, Townsend stated, “open the doors to all—let the children of the rich and the poor take their seats together and know of no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and intellect.” On May 7 of that year, the New York Free Academy was awarded its charter by the New York Legislature. In 1849, Townsend Harris Hall, a one-year preparatory school for the Free Academy, was opened, and it became a city high school in 1906. Though closed for budgetary reasons in 1942 under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, it was re-opened in 1984 as Townsend Harris High School and now serves as a public magnet school for the humanities. In 1856, President Franklin Pierce named Harris as the U.S. General Consul to Japan, and the first consulate was opened in the city of Shimoda on the southeast of the Izu Peninsula. After lengthy negotiations, Harris finalized the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two countries in 1858, thus opening the ports of Kanagawa and four other Japanese cities to trade with the United States. Harris returned to the U.S. in 1861, and he remained active in politics until his death in New York on February 25, 1878. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. To this day, Harris is fondly remembered in Japan for his diplomatic work, with delegations from the city of Shimoda continuing to make yearly visits to his gravesite. The archives of City College house a collection of Harris' letters and papers, as well as other ephemera connected with his legacy. When it opened in 1984, Townsend Harris High School occupied a small building on Parsons Boulevard. In 1995, the school was moved to 149-11 Melbourne Avenue on the campus of Queens College in Flushing.

Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928), was an African American inventor and humanist. Born free in Massachusetts, Latimer was the son of fugitive slaves George Latimer and Rebecca Smith, who escaped from Virginia to Boston in 1842. Upon arrival, George Latimer was captured and imprisoned, which became a pivotal case for the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts. His arrest and the ensuing court hearings spurred multiple meetings and a publication, “The Latimer Journal and the North Star,” involving abolitionists like Frederick Douglass. The large collective effort eventually gained George his freedom by November 1842. Against this backdrop, Lewis Latimer was born in 1848. Latimer’s young life was full of upheaval as his family moved from town to town while tensions in the country continued to mount before the Civil War broke out in 1861. In 1864, Latimer joined the Union Navy at age 16. After the conclusion of the war, Latimer was determined to overcome his lack of formal education; he taught himself mechanical drawing and became an expert draftsman while working at a patent law office. He went on to work with three of the greatest scientific inventors in American history: Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim and Thomas Alva Edison. Latimer played a critical role in the development of the telephone and, as Edison’s chief draftsman, he invented and patented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb. As an expert, Latimer was also called to testify on a number of patent infringement cases. Outside of his professional life, Latimer wrote and published poems, painted and played the violin. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens and was among the first Civil War veterans to join the Grand Army of the Republic fraternal organization. He also taught English to immigrants at the Henry Street Settlement.

Albert Mauro (1911 - 1982), a Kew Gardens Hills environmentalist, civil rights and community activist, and WW II veteran. After returning from military service and while working as an insurance adjuster, Mauro became involved with the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He demonstrated throughout the South and attended the 1963 March on Washington. Mauro also joined the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, and took on many local environmental issues, including those involving his community and parks. He exposed the sludge problem in the Flushing Bay with organized walking tours and fought against the 1972 plan for installation of a nuclear reactor in the World’s Fair Science Building. His advocacy work included lobbying the state to preserve Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows, according to the Parks Department. The body of water would end up being classified as a protected wetland in 1976, six years before Mauro passed away in 1982.

Police Officer Santos Valentin Jr. (b. 1961), a member of the New York Police Department's Emergency Service Squad 7, was killed on September 11, 2001, during rescue operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Patrolman Arthur Howarth (d. 1938) had served with the NYPD for 11 years when he was killed in a car crash with another police car while both were responding to an alarm. Howarth was with the 85th Precinct when he and Patrolman Angelo Favata responded to a report of a stabbing at 7:30pm on July 9, 1938. They collided with the other police car, which was also responding to the call, at the corner of Bushwick and Johnson Avenues in Brooklyn. The impact led the two cars to collide with a third car, which was parked. Howarth suffered a fractured skull, and died in the hospital an hour later. Favata, also suffering from a fractured skull, died later. The two officers in the other car, Patrolman Philip Faber and Patrolman Paul Storll, suffered injuries but survived. A man in the parked car was also injured. Howarth was 33 years old at the time of his passing. He left behind his wife, Rose, who had been in critical condition at the time following a leg amputation after the birth of their daughter a few weeks earlier. Family and police officials held a funeral procession on July 13, 1938, from the home of Howarth's mother-in-law in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to St. Columbkille Church (now Ss. Cyril & Methodius Church), after which Howarth was buried at St. John's Cemetery. Council Member Robert Holden proposed this street co-naming in June 2024, and a commemoration ceremony took place on November 16, 2024. The intersection is near where Howarth had lived, at 72-21 Calmus Avenue.

What does Independence Day mean to you? In addition to commemorating the birth of the United States, it is also a day for celebrating values of freedom, self-determination, and civic courage. This collection highlights ten individuals from Queens who embodied the spirit of independent thought. They were artists, educators, activists, and advocates who pushed against convention, spoke truth to power, and helped shape their communities in lasting ways. Many are not widely known, but their legacies live on in the streets and plazas named in their honor. Through their stories, we celebrate not just national independence but the everyday acts of vision, resistance, and creativity that define a truly free society.

Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) was an Austrian Jewish journalist and playwright best known for role as founder of the political form of Zionism, a movement to establish an independent Jewish State. He was born in 1860 in Budapest, Hungary to Jakob and Jeanette Herzl, who were both wealthy German-speaking Jews. Though Herzl received his degree in law at the University of Vienna, he later focused on literature and was a successful journalist and playwright. He published a Zionist manifesto called “Der Judenstaat” in 1896. Subsequently, he put together the first Zionist Congress to take the steps to establish the Jewish State. He was the leader of the organization until his death at the age of forty-four in 1904. He was the only person mentioned by name in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and was known as the founder of the vision for the Jewish State. The Herzl’s monument was built a hundred years after his birth. It was designed by Joseph DiLorenzi and funded by the Kew Garden Zionist District. The Herzl monument is across the street from a Jewish high school and is regarded as a symbol of Jewish community strength.

William Hallett (1616 – 1706), an early English colonizer in America, was born in 1616 in Dorsetshire, England. Hallett's arrival in America is not definitively documented, but by 1647 in Connecticut, he married his second wife, Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett. Elizabeth was the niece of John Winthrop, the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her first husband died by drowning, and she divorced her second husband due to mental illness. When Elizabeth married William while pregnant with their first child, it caused a scandal in the Puritan colony. The Puritan church didn't recognize mental illness as grounds for divorce, and the townspeople of Connecticut, upon learning they were considered "living in sin," demanded Elizabeth be hanged. John Winthrop Jr., Elizabeth's uncle and the governor of Connecticut, intervened. He struck a deal with Peter Stuyvesant, allowing the Halletts to flee to New Amsterdam. Under the cover of darkness, Elizabeth left behind all her property, and they sailed to Hell Gate in Newtown, present-day Hallets Cove. Stuyvesant appointed Hallett Sheriff of Flushing around 1650. However, he later imprisoned Hallett for hosting an Episcopalian minister. Hallett was eventually forgiven. In 1652, William Hallett purchased 160 acres of land, which became known as Hallett's Cove. Twelve years later, his holdings expanded to include all of present-day Astoria, encompassing roughly 2,200 acres. The area remained largely rural and used as a ship landing until 1839 when fur merchant Stephen A. Halsey officially founded Hallets Cove. A steamboat and ferry line were then established, connecting the area to 86th Street in Manhattan. The original farmhouse at Hallett's Cove was burned down by indigenous people, forcing the Hallett family to flee to Flushing. Despite this setback, they persevered and built a life in the new world, becoming part of early American history. Elizabeth's actions in Connecticut helped establish women's property rights, while William's banishment and reinstatement played a role in setting the stage for future protests like the Flushing Remonstrance. The couple eventually left the Anglican church and converted to Quakerism. William Hallett died in April 1706 in the area now known as Hallets Cove in Newtown, Queens, New York Colony, British Colonial America. A fictionalized account of their marriage appears in the book The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton.

Arthur O’Meally (1935-2022) dedicated over 40 years to volunteering and service in his community. He was an active member of the North Flushing Civic Association and the Flushing chapter of the NAACP. He was deeply committed to preserving historical sites and green spaces in New York. As a trustee of the Queens Historical Society, he served as vice president of operations. He was a certified Citizen Pruner for the NYC Parks Department and helped care for the Wyckoff-Snediker and Moore-Jackson cemeteries, two of the oldest burial sites in Queens. For his preservation work, he was honored with a Declaration of Honor from then-Queens Borough President Claire Shulman in 1999 and a Civic Achievement Award in 2005 during Black History Month. O’Meally was born at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, New York, to Gladys L. and Vernon Edward O'Meally. Edward, was born in the British West Indies and worked as a porter after coming to the city. Arthur was drafted in 1958 to serve in the U.S. Army, where he served in the 1st Missile Battalion, 39th Artillery, attaining the rank of Specialist 4. He was stationed in Mainz, Germany, during the Cold War. When he returned to the states, he dated Millicent Chisolm, whom he married in 1961. They remained married for over 55 years. Arthur worked at York Industries, where he was eventually promoted to plant manager. The family moved from Jamaica, Queens and purchased a home in Flushing in 1976. Millicent O’Meally also has a long history of devoted community service, having served as a member of Queens Community Board 7 for 36 years before retiring in 2024, and as a member of the Flushing NAACP.

Dr. Thomas Anthony Dooley III (1927–1961) was an American physician and public figure renowned for his humanitarian work in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Born into a prominent Irish Catholic family in St. Louis, Missouri, Dooley served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1955. His experiences during this time led him to write the best-selling books "Deliver Us from Evil" (1956), "The Edge of Tomorrow" (1958), and "The Night They Burned the Mountain" (1960). After leaving the Navy, Dooley established several hospitals in Southeast Asia and co-founded the Medical International Corporation (MEDICO), funded by his extensive public appearances and media work. Unfortunately, he succumbed to cancer in 1961 and was posthumously honored with a Congressional Gold Medal by President John F. Kennedy. Decades later, it was revealed that Dooley had ties to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and had embellished or fabricated certain aspects of his experiences in Southeast Asia.

Manuel de Dios Unanue (1943-1992) was a Cuban-born journalist and radio host who was killed in New York City in 1992. De Dios was born in Cuba in 1943 and moved to the United States in 1973, after time spent in Spain and Puerto Rico, he settled in Elmhurst, Queens. He worked as a journalist for several Spanish-language newspapers in New York City, before becoming editor-in-chief of El Diario La Prensa, the largest Spanish-Language newspaper in NYC, in 1984. De Dios was best known for his investigative reporting on the Colombian drug trade. He wrote extensively about the drug cartels that operated in Queens, and he named names. His reporting made him a target of the drug traffickers, and he was slain on March 11, 1992, by a hitman for the Colombian drug cartel in the Meson Asturias restaurant on 83rd Street in Queens. This small park on the border of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens was named in his honor in 1993.

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in Waxhaws, near Lancaster, South Carolina. He was orphaned at 14, after his father died shortly after he was born, and his mother and brothers died during the Revolutionary War. He was the first man elected from Tennessee to the House of Representatives, and also served in the Senate. Jackson was a general during the War of 1812, and fought against the British successfully multiple times. He quickly gained renown for his feats during the war, and became one of the most widely respected figures in the military in the United States, especially after his force’s stunning victory at New Orleans against the British in 1815. Jackson was elected president in 1828. As president, Jackson consolidated and frequently used his executive power, which invited critiques from Congress and his political opponents, the Whigs. He was watchful over government expenditures, managing to pay off the national debt in 1835. Jackson also advocated for the removal of Native American tribes to the west of the Mississippi River, claiming that the U.S. policy of trying to assimilate them into white society had failed. Congress authorized the Indian Removal Act in 1831, empowering Jackson to make treaties with the tribes and arrange their removal. More than 15,000 members of the Cherokee nation were forced to migrate to present-day Oklahoma. As many as 4,000 died on the journey known as the “Trail of Tears.” Jackson left office on March 7, 1837. He died on June 8, 1845, after fighting constant infections and pain. He was buried in the garden of his home, the Hermitage, two days later.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943) was well-known for being ahead of his time in the world of natural science. He sought to find cash crop alternatives to discourage straining labor of cotton picking. In addition, he invented tools and methods to make agriculture more efficient. As a Black man born in the early 1860s, Carver faced significant barriers to obtaining his education and pursuing his research interests. He developed his understanding of agricultural labor for three years on his own plot of land before becoming the first Black student at Iowa State University. After graduating Iowa State in 1896 with a Master of Science Degree, he went on to teach agriculture at Tuskegee Institute. Carver taught for 47 years passing down lessons such as crop rotation and other farmer techniques. Carver was a prodigy in learning, specifically curious as to the different uses of produce like peanuts, and the invention of new products. His many contributions include glue, the Jesup Wagon, a vehicle to carry agricultural exhibits to town, instant coffee, shaving cream, and 325 uses for peanuts. George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences in particular was established after the closing of Springfield High School by the NYC school board in 2007. Springfield High School became an educational campus housing George Washington Carver, as well as Excelsior Preparatory High School, and Queens Preparatory Academy. G.W.C. High School is most known for maintaining Springfield’s veterinary program.

This collection explores a sampling of the diverse musicians who've lived and practiced their art in Queens.

John Thompson Hoffman (1828 - 1888), was a politician who served as 78th Mayor of New York City (1866 to 1868) and 23rd Governor of New York State (1869 to 1873). Hoffman was born in 1828 in Ossining, NY. After attending Union College he studied for his law degree and passed the bar in 1849 and entered into practice. He was a member of the Young Men’s Tammany Hall General Committee, a member of the New York State Democratic Central Committee, and served as New York City Recorder from 1861 to 1866. Hoffman served as mayor of New York City from 1866 to 1868. From 1866 to 1868 he was Grand Sachem, or leader, of the Tammany Hall organization. In 1868, Hoffman was elected New York State Governor with the help of William “Boss” Tweed (1823-1878)  of Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall politicians secretly hoped Hoffman, might eventually win the United States presidency, but in 1871, with allegations of corruption circling, public support began to wane for the Tammany Machine. Hoffman’s presidential aspirations evaporated soon thereafter. In failing health, Hoffman journeyed abroad in search of a cure and died in Wiesbaden, Germany on March 24, 1888.

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential figures in jazz, known for both his trumpet improvisations and his distinctive singing voice. He also broke down numerous racial divides in the music and entertainment worlds, becoming the first Black performer to get featured billing in a major Hollywood film ("Pennies From Heaven," 1936) and the first Black host of a national radio show (Fleischmann's Yeast Show, 1937). Born in New Orleans in 1901, Armstrong grew up impoverished in a racially segregated city. He dropped out of school in fifth grade to work, and developed a close relationship with a local Jewish family that gave him odd jobs and nurtured his love of music. By the age of 11, Armstrong wound up in the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where he joined the band and studied the cornet in earnest. Upon his release from the home in 1914, he began working as a musician on Mississippi riverboats and other local venues. His reputation skyrocketed, and by the early 1920s he moved north, performing and recording with jazz bands in Chicago and New York. Throughout the 1920s and '30s, Armstrong made dozens of records with his own and many other ensembles, toured extensively, and began performing in Broadway productions and movies. After some business and health setbacks, and in response to changing musical tastes, Armstrong scaled his group down to a six-piece combo in the 1940s and resumed touring internationally, recording albums and appearing in movies. Some of his biggest popular hits came in the later years of his career, including "Hello Dolly" (1964) and "What A Wonderful World" (1967). His grueling schedule took its toll on his heart and kidneys and in 1968 he was forced to take time off to recuperate, but he began performing again in 1970. Armstrong died in his sleep in July 1971, just a few months after his final engagement at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The Louis Armstrong Playground is adjacent to P.S. 143 Louis Armstrong, a public school serving grades Pre-K through 5.

Frank Joseph McManus (1948-1968) was killed in action in Dau Tieng, Vietnam, on September 17, 1968, at the age of 20. He had been in Vietnam for only six weeks when the helicopter transporting his unit back from a scouting patrol was struck by heavy fire as it landed. The first man out of the helicopter was wounded. Private McManus, despite the intense fire, left the helicopter to try and help him. McManus wrote from Vietnam that the men in his platoon were like his brothers. He had many friends and was always there for them. He was proud to wear his uniform and loved his country. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. McManus grew up in Queens on 80th Street, near Ditmars Boulevard. He attended Our Lady of Fatima Parochial School and Bryant High School in Queens. In December 1975, seven years after his death, residents of his Queens community erected a small stone monument at 81st Street and Ditmars Boulevard, around the corner from his family's home, at the park where Frank McManus played as a child. The inscription reads: "A Community Remembers." The following passage is from a message that Agnes and Peter McManus, his parents, wrote at his entry on “The Wall of Faces”: "The community erected a beautiful memorial stone in his memory near his home. LaGuardia Airport donated the Frank McManus Park... Every Memorial Day, we fly up to New York to attend the Memorial for Frankie and all the Boys who lost their lives for the Freedom of our Country. I am a Gold Star Mother who is very proud."

Mary Sarro (1927 – 2012) was a beloved member of the Jackson Heights community, and Former District Manager of Community Board 3 for over 20 years. She served on the board of directors of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, was a member of the board of the 115th Precinct Community Council, and helped clear the way for the boroughs first Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade in 1993.

Patrolman Joseph L. Rauchut (1924-1957) was assigned to Motorcycle Precinct 2, now known as Highway 2, when he was killed in the line of duty during a vehicle stop. Born December 14, 1924, Rauchut served with the United States Army during World War II and was a prisoner of war before joining the NYPD on July 1, 1955. He served the 79th Precinct until January 19, 1957, next joining the Motorcycle Precinct On the morning of November 30, 1957, Rauchut pulled over a car at the Brooklyn end of the Kosciusko Bridge. He told the driver to get back into his car, apparently joking that there was no need for them both to be killed while he wrote out the summons. Soon after, a truck hit Rauchut's patrol car, which then struck him. He later died of his injuries at Elmhurst General Hospital. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their three young children, Joseph Jr., Jeanette, and Richard. Council Member Robert Holden proposed co-naming this street, near the site of the fatal crash, in Rauchut's honor in 2023. A ceremony to dedicate the street was held on December 14, 2024.

Murray Fox (1927-2015) served in the United States Navy and later was a long-time Sunnyside resident who was active in the Kiwanis Club of Sunnyside for over 20 years serving as president for a number of those years. He also served as the Kiwanis Club Lt. Governor of the Queens West Division. He also operated Fox’s Variety Store on the north side of Greenpoint Avenue and was very involved with charitable events throughout the community.

August Harvey “Augie” Martin (1919-1968) was an American pilot. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and later became the first African American to pilot a commercial aircraft in the United States. Martin was born in Los Angeles but moved with his family to New York City during his childhood. In 1938, he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He returned to California to attend San Mateo Junior College and the University of California. While there, he washed airplanes at the Oakland Flying Service to pay for flying lessons. On January 8, 1940, Martin completed his first solo flight. He continued learning how to fly at the federally sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program at the University of California. There, he earned his flight instructor rating, a qualification that allows pilots to teach flight training. In 1942, he returned to New York and worked as a civilian inspector at the Navy V-12 Program at Cornell University. In 1943, Martin joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and went to Tuskegee, Alabama, for flight training, earning his wings on September 8, 1945. He was slated to go overseas with his bombardment team, but WWII ended before that took place. In 1946, Martin left the military and looked for a job in commercial aviation, but found it challenging to find a pilot's job as a Black man. He instead worked as an aircraft maintainer at Willis Air Service in Teterboro, N.J. From then until 1955, he was also a part-time pilot for different airlines. When he did not have any flying jobs, he worked as a stevedore on the New York City docks to support his family. In 1955, Martin joined Seaboard World Airlines as a pilot, becoming the first African American captain of a U.S. air carrier. In 1968, Martin helped establish Negro Airmen International (NAI) with Edward A. Gibbs and other African American pilots. NAI's mission was to foster the inclusion of African Americans in aviation. After the outbreak of civil war in Nigeria in 1967, Martin volunteered to bring emergency relief supplies into the Biafra region for the International Red Cross. On June 30, 1968, he and his wife Gladys died in a plane crash while attempting to land in Biafra during a rainstorm. In 1971, the August Martin High School opened on the site of the former Woodrow Wilson High School. The school is known for its aviation training program. Martin was also honored by the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration in 1980 with its publication of the August Martin Activities Book, a 20-page children's book. It was reprinted in 1993.

Russell Risley Sage (1816 – 1906) Was a financier and President of the Chicago, St. Paul & Milwaukee Railroad, he played a large part in organizing the railroad and telegraph systems in the United States. He also served as a delegate to the Whig Convention of 1848, where he supported Henry Clay. Sage served two consecutive terms in the U.S. Congress (1853–57). Sage was born in Oneida County New York, his first job was as an errand boy in his brother's Troy, NY grocery store, very motivated he soon opened his own wholesale grocery business. He was elected as an alderman in Troy, while also serving as a treasurer in Rensselaer County from 1844 to 1851, 1852 he was elected to Congress on the Whig ticket and served for five years until he took over as vice president of the La Crosse Railroad in Wisconsin, a company he had invested in. He also had money invested in Western Union Telegraph. He relocated to New York City in 1863 where he engaged in the business of selling puts and calls, as well as short-term options known as privileges. He has been credited with developing the market for stock options in the United States and inventing the "spread" and "straddle" option strategies, for which he was dubbed "Old Straddle" and the "Father of Puts and Calls."  In 1891, a man entered Sage’s office and demanded $1.2 million, threatening Sage with dynamite. When Sage refused, the man unleashed an explosion that left him dead, but Sage was mostly unharmed. The event was in all the newspapers. By the time of Sage’s death in 1906, he had amassed a large amount of money which he left to his wife Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1828 - 1918), and it is largely due to her efforts that so many institutions in New York benefitted from his fortune. Olivia donated large sums to the YMCA, the YWCA, the Women’s Hospital, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a memorial to her husband, she had built the First Presbyterian Church of Far Rockaway, at 1324 Beach 12th Street, where they used to vacation. Olivia also founded the Russell Sage Foundation in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States,” and helped to sponsor the Regional Plan Association’s (‘RPA’) project to develop a regional plan for New York City in 1929, which would provide Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981) with many of the basic ideas that shaped his career.

Dr. Dolores Beckham (1954-2016) was an educator for 40 years and served as the principal of Joseph Pulitzer Middle School since 1999. She was an alumna of Queens College, Columbia University, and St. John’s University, where she received her Ph.D. Under her leadership, Joseph Pulitzer Middle School in Jackson Heights introduced a dual language program. It was one of 15 recognized as Chancellor’s Citywide Model Dual Language Programs. She was a Fulbright Award-winning principal in 2008 and traveled around the world for conferences on education and leadership.

Officer Anthony Abruzzo Jr. (1947-1981) lived in Flushing and served with the New York City Police Department for 13 years, assigned to the 109th Precinct. He died trying to rescue his father-in-law who was being attacked by three men in front of his home. Office Abruzzo was shot in the chest and died from his wounds. He was survived by his wife and one child.

English explorer and navigator Henry Hudson (1575-1611) is credited as the first European to “discover” the North River, later named for him. On September 2, 1609, Hudson, the captain of the Dutch ship Halve Maen (Half Moon), directed his ship to drop anchor in the lower bay of what is now known as New York Harbor. Henry Hudson had been hired by the Dutch East India Company to find a sea route through North America to the Far East. The ship sailed up the river that now bears his name, docking off Spuyten Duyvil and attempting travel even further upstream before abandoning the quest, realizing that the river was narrowing. Hudson’s last voyage was in 1611 when, after discovering Hudson’s Bay and claiming it for England, his crew mutinied and cast him adrift. The Dutch East India Company soon afterward establish an outpost that became New Netherland, and eventually the metropolis we know as New York.

William H. Latham (1903-1987) was a Consulting Park Engineer under Robert Moses, and one of the few aides with whom Moses would directly interact. Born in 1903, Latham graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in civil engineering. Hired by Moses in 1927, Latham, along with several other associates hired during that period known as the “Moses Men,” became legendary throughout state and city government for his ability, loyalty and determination. In 1954, Moses selected Latham to oversee construction of the Niagara Project, a hydroelectric dam on the St. Lawrence River in Lewiston, N.Y.; it was the world's largest such project at the time. Latham remained as the dam's resident engineer until his retirement in 1971.

Mike Crowley (1936-2007) was a founding member and president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group (JHBG). Under his leadership, JHBG landmarked Jackson Heights as a historic district, operated the first ever community based anti-graffiti program in the City, established the JHBG Architectural and Good Neighbor Awards, the JHBG Halloween Parade, the garden club, created the Friends of Travers Park, operated Town Hall Meetings and Candidates Nights and created the publication of a community newsletter.

In 1967, Benjamin N. Cardozo High School was named after Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870-1938), former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1932-1938). Justice Cardozo is notable for both his defense of the New Deal’s social programs during his six short years at the Supreme Court and his advocacy for the common-law approach throughout his judicial career.  Born in New York City to a Portuguese Sephardic Jewish family, Justice Cardozo was tutored by Horatio Alger and various home tutors as a youth, before being admitted into Columbia College at age fifteen. Cardozo had ambition to restore his family’s honor, after his father, Judge Albert Cardozo of the Supreme Court of New York, achieved notoriety for his involvement with the corrupt Tweed ring. The elder Cardozo resigned in 1872, just before he could be impeached. After the younger Cardozo’s graduation from Columbia College and a few years at Columbia Law School, he joined his father’s law practice and entered the bar. In 1914, Cardozo was appointed to the Court of Appeals, he would serve eighteen years at the court - five of which at the head. Following Oliver Wendell Holmes’s retirement from the United States Supreme Court in 1932, Justice Cardozo was named to the Supreme Court by President Herbert Hoover. This appointment earned him the distinction of being the second Jewish judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court, after Justice Louis Brandeis. Despite later describing himself as an agnostic, Justice Cardozo volunteered within the Jewish community throughout his life. He was a member of the Judean Club, a board member of the American Jewish Committee, and a member of the Zionist Organization of America at various points. At the point of his appointment to the Supreme Court, he resigned from all offices except for his membership on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Welfare Board and on the Committee on the Advisor to the Jewish students at Columbia University. On the Supreme Court, he was one of the “Three Musketeers” - the nickname given to the three liberal members of the Court that supported the New Deal agenda, including Justice Brandeis and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone. He is noted for his defense of social security and old-age pensions in particular.

Samuel J. LeFrak (1918-2003) was born on February 12, 1918 in Manhattan to Harry and Sarah Schwartz Lefrak. His grandfather had founded a construction company called the LeFrak Organization in France in 1883 which he then brought to the United States. Samuel grew up with his father and grandfather running the family business and he took it over after graduating from the University of Maryland. Noticing a need for more affordable housing in the city after World War II, he dedicated his life and his business to creating that housing in New York City. Under Samuel’s leadership, the LeFrak Organization specialized in building six-story apartment buildings featuring two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments. He used what he called the “Four S Principles” when designing and building: Safe, Shopping, Schools, and Subways. During his lifetime his company built over 150,000 rental units in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey. He received honorary doctorates from the Pratt Institute, New York Law School, Colgate University, Michigan State University, Queens College, St. John’s University and the University of Maryland. He ventured into supporting music and other artistic ventures saying, ““Music is my life and this is where I get my fulfillment. Samuel passed away in 2003. His most iconic venture, LeFrak City serves as a reminder that building affordable housing is possible when developers are dedicated and willing.

The following text was written by Paul Russo's brother George: Paul was a humble and devout Christian young man. Passing at the age of 33, his life was short but meaningful. He was a person of integrity who devoted his later life to the ministry of the less fortunate. Tending to the homeless, building shelter for the poor in Third World countries and bringing the spiritually disenfranchised to the Lord became his mission. He was also entrepreneurial and business-savvy, always giving back to others whatever success he earned through his hard work. The last months of his life were an inspiration to those who witnessed the selfless acceptance of his medical diagnosis offered for the healing of others. Paul was a heroic saint to those who knew him best.

Thomas Edmund Molloy (1885-1956) was born in Nashua, New Hampshire on September 4th, 1885. He attended Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. His Irish parents previously lived in Brooklyn, NY. In 1904, Molloy attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn. After attending school, he decided to study for the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary, in Brooklyn. He also attended North American College in Rome, to further his studies.  On September 19th, 1908, he was ordained as a priest in Rome. He also earned a doctorate in theology before returning to Brooklyn. When Molloy returned, he was assigned as a curate at St. John’s Chapel. Molloy held many positions in the Brooklyn diocese and rose up the ranks. He was a secretary to Cardinal George Mundelein , then Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and was also his secretary for a short period when the prelate moved to Chicago. After he returned to Brooklyn, he joined St. Joseph's College for Women as the spiritual director and professor of philosophy. He later became president of the institution.  Molloy was named Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn on July 28th, 1920. He was consecrated on October 3rd, 1920. The next year, he was named Bishop of Brooklyn following the death of Bishop Charles E. McDonnell. He was installed on February 15th, 1922. At the time, Molloy became the third Bishop of Brooklyn.  In 1930, Molloy created the Immaculate Conception Seminary, a labor school where working men could learn the Catholic principles that apply to trade unionism. He also ordered the diocesan clergy to learn about industrial issues to better serve their parishioners.  On April 7th, 1951, Molloy received the personal title of archbishop from Pope Pius XII.  On November 15th, 1956, Molloy experienced an attack of pneumonia and suffered a stroke. He passed away at his Brooklyn residence on November 30th, 1956.

Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. (1912-2002) was an aviation pioneer who commanded the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military who fought in World War II. He was the son of Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., the U.S. Army’s first Black general, and he continued his father’s military legacy by becoming the first African American general in the United States Air Force in 1954. He was later advanced to four-star general after his retirement by President Bill Clinton in 1998. Davis was born on December 18, 1912, in Washington, D.C., the son of Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. and Elnora Dickerson Davis, the second of their three children. In the summer of 1926, a barnstorming pilot took Davis for a ride in an open-cockpit plane at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., and Davis became determined to become a pilot. He graduated from Central High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and then studied for a time at Western Reserve University and the University of Chicago before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As the only Black cadet, he was shunned by his white classmates. He lived and ate by himself, and fellow cadets would not speak with him except for official business. But Davis persevered, graduating 35th out of a class of 276 cadets in 1936. Soon after, he married Agatha Scott, the couple having met and dated during his years of study. Upon graduation, he received a commission as a second lieutenant of infantry. Though he wanted to be an aviator in the Army Air Corps, he was rejected despite his qualifications, as the U.S. military was segregated at the time and there were no all-Black units. He was assigned to the 24th Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia, and attended infantry school. In 1937, he worked as a professor of military science at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a position his father had also held. In 1941, the War Department established an all-Black flying unit at Tuskegee Army Air Field near Tuskegee Institute. Davis was among the first 12 cadets trained in what would become known as the Tuskegee Airmen. In March 1942, he received his pilot’s wings. He was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the Army Air Corps. In August of 1942, Davis assumed command of the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first unit of the Tuskegee Airmen. In 1943, the Squadron flew support missions in the Mediterranean, seeing combat in North Africa and Italy. In the fall of the same year, Davis returned to the U.S., and he was called to command of the 332nd Fighter Group, an even larger all-Black air unit that was preparing for overseas service. Under his command, they effectively defended bombers on missions deep inside Germany, shooting down 111 planes, destroying or damaging 273 on the ground, and never losing an American bomber to enemy fighters. By the end of the war, Davis had personally flown some 60 combat missions, and he was promoted to colonel. In July of 1948, President Truman’s executive order integrated the armed forces. At the time, Colonel Davis acted as an advisor to the Assistant Secretary to the Air Force, and his draft blueprint on integration, along with the performance of his fliers, helped to set the stage for the end of segregation in the Air Force. Over the next two decades, Davis served in a variety of staff and command positions, including work at the Pentagon and overseas, with a final assignment as Deputy Commander in Chief of United States Strike Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. From 1954 through 1965, he rose in rank from brigadier general to lieutenant general, before retiring on January 31, 1970. He remained active in his post-military years, serving briefly as the Director of Public Safety for the City of Cleveland, Ohio, and later in the same year, as Director of Civil Aviation Security in the Department of Transportation. In 1971, he was named as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Safety and Consumer Affairs, and he served under both the Ford and Nixon administrations. Davis was highly decorated in his military service. His many honors include two Distinguished Service Medals and a Silver Star. On December 9, 1998, he was awarded his fourth general’s star by President Bill Clinton, making him a general of the highest order within the U.S. military and the first African American to receive the honor in retirement. His memoir, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American, was published in 1991. General Davis died on July 4, 2002, in Washington, D.C., and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. Boulevard is located at the southwest corner of Tuskegee Airmen Way and 154th Street in South Jamaica.

Text courtesy of Walter Mugdan, president of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee. The name “Udalls Cove” is a bit of a misnomer. In 1833 Richard Udall bought from the Allen family a grist mill, located about a mile north of the Douglaston peninsula in a much smaller cove on the eastern shore of Little Neck Bay where a stream enters. The stream had been dammed up at its mouth to create a mill pond. When the tide was low, Udall let water flow from the pond to the bay to turn his mill wheel. When the pond was drained empty he would close the dam gate and wait for the tide to rise. When the tide was high he would open the gate and let the sea water from the bay flow into the pond. This would turn his mill wheel again, but in the opposite direction. Gears and belts inside enabled the mill machinery to run in the correct direction regardless of which way the mill wheel was turning. Udall’s mill, now a museum, still stands on the little cove in front of the mill pond. But his name was eventually assigned to the larger cove a mile south that lies between the Douglaston peninsula and the Village of Great Neck Estates. Strangely, the correct name of the cove is Udalls – without an apostrophe.

Denis P. Gorman (1903-1963) was a civic leader devoted to providing recreational facilities for the youth of Queens. Through Gorman’s efforts, the City acquired this parkland, and today the playground honors his memory. Gorman also helped to bring franchised bus service to Jackson Heights in 1932. As the Chairman of the Youth Activities Committee he helped to build 20 Little League baseball fields in five months. He was head of the Elmjack Little League for ten years and was a founding member of local youth councils. Gorman also served as the Democratic District Leader of Jackson Heights. After a lifetime spent serving his city, Gorman died in August, 1963.

Felix J. Cuervo (1919-1992) founded and served as president of the Native New Yorkers Historical Association, a group that led tours and installed memorials to honor local historical figures and events. Born on June 25, 1919 in Brooklyn, Cuervo served in the Navy in World War II and briefly attended Columbia University and New York University. He worked as a personnel administrator for several federal and state agencies until his retirement in 1983. In 1962, he embraced his love of this city and organized the Native New Yorkers Historical Society, through which he was one of the first to provide historical walking tours in New York City. The organization's research and tours highlighted famous and lesser-known–and all fascinating–New Yorkers. Cuervo was instrumental in the installation of plaques to mark historic spots including the site of the famous Armory Art Show of 1913; the former Triangle Hofbrau restaurant, where actress Mae West got her start; and the home of President Chester A. Arthur, where he took his oath of office, and where he died four years later. Cuervo passed away on August 8, 1992 after suffering from cancer. He was 73 years old, and had lived in Richmond Hill for many years. This street, located near his family home, was co-named in his honor in 1993. Cuervo had once told The New York Times that his ambition was to "someday see New York City's buildings covered with little plaques, starting in the Battery and working all the way uptown. Then people on Sunday afternoons can walk through the city and realize what great things have taken place in so many of our buildings. And they can feel the same excitement that I felt when, as a boy, I used to walk with my father through old New York." We sincerely hope he would have appreciated the Queens Name Explorer!

Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) was born to Scottish parents in Ireland in 1688, and raised in Duns, Scotland. In his early life, Colden trained to become a Presbyterian minister at the University of Edinburgh until transitioning to the sciences. Colden immigrated to the British colony of Pennsylvania in 1710 where he worked as a doctor and a merchant until moving to New York in 1718. As a scientist, Colden studied biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and astronomy, while pursuing research on cancer, yellow fever, smallpox, and climate-based diseases as a doctor. Some of Colden’s famous academic publications include The History of the Five Indian Nations Depending on the Province of New York (1727), a classification of local species in the Linnaean system (1749), and a critique of Sir Issac Newton’s work in The Principles of Action in Matter (1751). Colden also pursued roles in public service, holding the position of Master in Chancery and Surveyor General of New York, serving on the Governor's Council, and eventually as acting Governor up until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Colden was not popular among American colonists due to his British-favoring policies on trade, as seen in incidents such as the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765. Forced out of office by the war, Colden died on his Long Island estate near Flushing, Spring Hill, in 1776. In addition to this school, a nearby playground is also named after him.

Betty Jean DiBiaso (1993-2015), a 21-year-old resident of Astoria, was killed in a hit-and-run accident while she was crossing the street at Ditmars Boulevard and 19th Street. In the aftermath of Ms. DiBiaso's death, the Department of Transportation, using community input, developed and implemented traffic safety measures in the Astoria Park area. These upgrades calmed traffic, separated cyclists from pedestrians and shortened the crossing distance for pedestrians.

David Norman Dinkins (1927-2020), the first Black mayor of New York City, was inaugurated on January 1, 1990 and served until January 31, 1993. Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in Trenton and Harlem. After graduating from high school, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning the Congressional Gold Medal. He earned an undergraduate degree at Howard University, then attended Brooklyn Law School, graduating in 1956. He practiced law privately from 1956 to 1975. He represented the 78th District in the New York State Assembly in 1966, and served as president of the New York City Board of Elections from 1972 to 1973. He served as a city clerk for ten years. On his third run, he was elected Manhattan borough president in 1985, serving until 1989. Elected the 106th mayor of New York City on November 7, 1989, Dinkins defeated three-term incumbent mayor Ed Koch and two other challengers in the Democratic primary and Republican nominee Rudy Giuliani in the general election. Economic decline and racial tensions, including the Crown Heights riot of 1991, led to Dinkins's defeat by Republican Rudy Giuliani in the 1993 election. Dinkins was a professor of professional practice at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs from 1994 until his death, served on numerous boards, and remained active in Democratic politics. Highlights of his administration included the cleanup of Times Square, the Beacon Schools program, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and the "Safe Streets, Safe City" plan. Dinkins was responsible for several initiatives that continue to bring significant revenue to New York City: the 99-year lease signed with the USTA National Tennis Center for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, Fashion Week, Restaurant Week, and Broadway on Broadway.

Barbara Jackson (1942 – 2020) was a veteran Queens’s Democratic district leader and union official who dedicated her life to the LeFrak City community. Jackson served as a district leader for East Elmhurst and Corona in Assembly District 35 Part B from 1992 until her death. She represented LeFrak City, the complex she called home for decades. She began working with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, known as the IATSE, in 1988, where she served as the Executive Assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer for almost three decades. In 2008, she was one of four delegates elected to represent New York’s 5th Congressional District at the Democratic National Convention. She was also a member of the Elmhurst Hospital Community Advisory Board and regularly attended Queens Community Board 4 meetings for years, and was awarded the Marjorie Matthews Community Advocate Award from the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation for outstanding leadership and work on behalf of Elmhurst Hospital Center and the Community. Barbara was also awarded the Harry T. Stewart Award (the highest Branch Award) from the Corona-East Elmhurst Branch NAACP, of which she was a lifetime member. Barbara was a member of Key Women of America Inc., Concourse Village Branch, (second vice president), a member of the Corona-East Elmhurst Kiwanis Club, and attended monthly meetings of the 110th Pct. Community Council and served as the Community Liaison to Community Boards 3Q and 4Q for former U. S. Representative Joseph Crowley.

Lawrence Virgilio (1962-2001) was a New York City Firefighter who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Virgilio, a firefighter with the Greenwich Village-based Squad 18, used the playground as a youth growing up in this neighborhood. Virgilio served 12 years with the Fire Department, receiving two unit citations for bravery.

Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) was a lawyer and politician who served in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, as attorney general and a key presidential advisor from 1961 to 1963. In that time, Robert fought organized crime and was an instrumental supporter of the Civil Rights movement. He left the administration in 1964, the year following President Kennedy’s assassination. From 1965 to 1968, Robert represented New York in the U.S. Senate, where he continued to advocate for human rights and the economically disadvantaged, while opposing racial discrimination and the nation’s deepening involvement in the Vietnam War. On June 5, 1968, while campaigning in Los Angeles for the Democratic presidential nomination, Kennedy was shot several times by gunman Sirhan Sirhan. He died the following day at age 42. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Robert was the seventh of nine children born to businessman and financier Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy, the daughter of the mayor of Boston. After serving in the navy in World War II, Robert graduated from Harvard in 1948 and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1951. In 1950, he married Ethel Skakel, and the couple had eleven children together. Following law school, Robert joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, leaving in 1952 to manage his brother John’s successful campaign for the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. In 1953, Robert was an assistant counsel to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, headed by Joseph R. McCarthy, but left the position because of his opposition to unjust investigative tactics. In 1957, he began to help investigate corruption in trade unions as Chief Counsel for the Senate Rackets Committee, resigning in 1960 to help run his brother’s presidential campaign. Robert is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, adjacent to the gravesite of President Kennedy. Opened in 1936, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge consists of three bridges, a viaduct, and 14 miles of approach roads connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Originally named the Triborough Bridge, it was renamed in Kennedy’s honor at a ceremony in Astoria on November 19, 2008. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service include Robert F. Kennedy Hall on the campus of Queensborough Community College and Robert F. Kennedy Community High School in Flushing.

Conrad Poppenhusen (1818-1883), entrepreneur and philanthropist, was born in Hamburg, Germany on April 1, 1818. After working for a whalebone merchant as a whalebone purchaser in Europe, Poppenhusen moved to the United States in 1843 to set up a whalebone processing plant on the Brooklyn waterfront. In 1852 he obtained a license from Charles Goodyear to manufacture hard rubber goods, and then moved his firm to a farming village in what is now Queens. Poppenhusen is credited with creating the Village of College Point, which was formed in 1870 when it incorporated the neighborhoods of Flammersburg and Strattonport. In order to accommodate his factory workers he initiated numerous developments; including the establishment of housing, the First Reformed Church, and construction of streets.. In 1868, he opened the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which connected the town to New York City. In that same year he also founded the Poppenhusen Institute, which was comprised of a vocational high school and the first free kindergarten in the United States, and is the oldest school in Queens today. After Poppenhusen retired in 1871, his family lost much of its fortune due to the financial mismanagement by his three sons. Conrad Poppenhusen died in College Point on December 12, 1883.

Captain William Chrysostom Dermody was a dedicated and outspoken abolitionist who was killed in the Civil War. He was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1830 but came to New York with his family as a young child. He volunteered with the 67th New York Infantry and served in Company K, the first regiment of Long Island volunteers. The backbone of the regiment was formed by members of Henry Ward Beecher’s Abolitionist Plymouth Church Congregation in Brooklyn Heights. It was organized in Brooklyn on June 24, 1861, and the soldiers left for Washington, D.C., on August 21, 1861. The regiment fought in many battles throughout the war, including the Battle of Spotsylvania. The Battle of Spotsylvania took place in Fredricksburg, Virginia, from May 8 to 21 in 1864. A numerically superior Union force met with a smaller but vigorous Confederate force anxious to avenge their previous losses at Gettysburg. During the two weeks of the battle, a total of 152,000 men fought (100,000 Union soldiers and 52,000 Confederate) and 30,000 lives were lost. During May 12 and 13 in particular, Gen. Ulysses Grant managed to capture nearly an entire division of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army and came close to cutting the Confederate army in half. It was at this point that Dermody lost his life, being mortally wounded on May 12 and dying the following day. His remains were buried on the battlefield at the time. In 1865, the Fredericksburg National Cemetery was established to reinter and memorialize the almost 20,000 soldiers who died there. A marker for Dermody can be found in the cemetery. His parents, Patrick and Lavinia Boyd Dermody, are buried in Flushing's Mount St. Mary Cemetery. The plot of land located on 216th Street and 48th Avenue had been the site of the local two-room schoolhouse. In 1866, the site was dedicated to the memory of Captain Dermody by a ceremonial meeting of a Union and Confederate veteran, each planting a special tree: a maple to represent the North and a sycamore to represent the South. The trees were to grow together as a symbol of the communal hope for a better union. A monument was placed in the square with the inscription, “For a Better Union 1861-1865”; it remains there today. Every Memorial Day, the Bayside Historical Society lays a wreath at the park to commemorate Captain Dermody and those who fought in the Civil War. The Board of Aldermen (predecessor of the City Council) officially named this property for Captain William C. Dermody on March 15, 1937. The name was changed simply to Captain Dermody Triangle on July 29, 1997, by an executive decree from Commissioner Henry J. Stern. A low stone wall bounds the triangle.

Denis J. Butler (1927-2010) was a lifelong resident of Astoria who represented his district in the New York State Assembly for 24 years. He served on the Rules, Aging, Economic Development, Labor and Oversight, Analysis and Investigations Committees and on the Joint Budget Conference Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education, which helped to maintain and increase funding for higher education. As Chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on the Special Problems of the Aging, he was responsible for the MTA putting the rough paint on the edge of the subway platform to alert the visually impaired that the platform was ending. Assemblyman Butler volunteered with the Lighthouse for the Blind for 20 years. He also served as president of the St. Joseph’s Home School Association, and was a member of the Holy Name Society Parish Council. In 1988, he received the Brooklyn Diocese’s Pro Vita Award, presented by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the unborn and in support of life. In 1992, he received the New York State Catholic Conference Public Policy Award, presented by John Cardinal O’Connor and the Bishops of New York State for his work in support of the Maternity and Early Childhood Foundation. In 2009, he was made a knight of the Papal Order of Saint Gregory the Great in Brooklyn’s St. James Cathedral Basilica by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzo.

Daniel Carter Beard (1850-1941) was a prominent Progressive-era reformer, outdoor enthusiast, illustrator, and author, and is considered one of the founders of American Scouting. His series of articles for St. Nicholas Magazine formed the basis for The American Boy's Handy Book (1882), a manual of outdoor sports, activities, and games that he wrote and illustrated. In addition, he authored more than 20 other books on various aspects of scouting. His work with author and wildlife artist Ernest Thompson Seton became the basis of the Traditional Scouting movement and led to the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. Beard was born on June 21, 1850, in Cincinnati, Ohio. When he was 11, his family moved across the Ohio River to Covington, Kentucky. The fourth of six children, he was the son of Mary Caroline (Carter) Beard and James Henry Beard, a celebrated portrait artist. In 1869, Beard earned a degree in civil engineering from Worrall's Academy in Covington and then worked as an engineer and surveyor in the Cincinnati area. In 1874, Beard was hired by the Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, and his surveying work led him to travel extensively over the eastern half of the United States. His family joined him in moving to New York City in 1878, and they settled in Flushing. From 1880 to 1884, Beard studied at the Art Students League, where he befriended fellow student Ernest Thompson Seton. Beard’s time there inspired him to work in illustration. His drawings appeared in dozens of newspapers and magazines, such as Harper's Weekly and The New York Herald, and he illustrated a number of well-known books, including Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) and Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894). In 1894, he met and married Beatrice Alice Jackson, and together they had two children, Barbara and Daniel. His career led him into the magazine industry, and he became editor of the wildlife periodical Recreation in 1902. While at Recreation, he wrote a monthly column geared at youth, and in 1905, he founded the Sons of Daniel Boone to promote outdoor recreation for boys. By 1906, he had moved on to Women’s Home Companion and then to Pictorial Review three years later. In 1909, he founded Boy Pioneers of America, which merged together a year later with similar scouting groups, including Seton’s Woodcraft Indians, to become the Boy Scouts of America. In 1910, Beard founded Troop 1 in Flushing, one of the oldest continuously chartered Boy Scout Troops in the United States. Beard was one of the Boy Scouts’ first National Commissioners, holding the position for more than 30 years until his death. Affectionately known to millions of Boy Scouts as “Uncle Dan,” he served as editor of Boys’ Life, the organization’s monthly magazine, and he became an Eagle Scout at age 64. In 1922, he received the gold Eagle Scout badge for distinguished service, the only time the badge was awarded. Through his work with his sisters, Lina and Adelia Beard, who together wrote The American Girls Handy Book (1887), Beard also encouraged girls to take up scouting. He helped in the organization of Camp Fire Girls and served as president of Camp Fire Club of America. His autobiography, Hardly a Man Is Now Alive, was published in 1939, and Beard died at his home in Suffern, New York, on June 11, 1941. In 1965, his childhood home in Covington, Kentucky, became a National Historic Landmark. J.H.S. 189 Douglas Carter Beard is located at 144-80 Barclay Avenue in Beard’s former neighborhood of Flushing. Other sites in Flushing named for Beard include Daniel Carter Beard Mall and Daniel Carter Beard Memorial Square.

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji "B.R." Ambedkar (1891–1956), an Indian human rights leader, played a pivotal role in the writing of India's constitution. This economist, legal expert, and social reformer dedicated his life to eradicating social inequality in India. Born into the Dalit or "untouchable" Mahar caste in Maharashtra, Ambedkar experienced firsthand the rigid caste system where traditional "unclean" jobs led to ritual impurity, which in turn restricted individuals to those very jobs. His community was forbidden from entering Hindu temples; in some regions, they couldn't even walk on the road in front of a temple. In Travancore, untouchables even had to carry a bell to announce their presence, preventing higher-caste Hindus from being "defiled" by their proximity. Despite these barriers, Ambedkar became a powerful voice for the oppressed through education. At a time when less than one percent of his caste was literate, his pursuit of education was supported by both his family and high-caste Hindu reformers who recognized his exceptional talent. Between 1912 and 1923, he earned a BA in Bombay, an MA and PhD in economics from Columbia University, and an MA and D.Sc. in economics from London University, in addition to passing the bar from Gray's Inn in London. Upon returning to India, Ambedkar committed himself to improving the lives of untouchables. In 1935, after a five-year campaign to gain temple entry rights failed, Ambedkar resolved to leave Hinduism if he couldn't reform it. He urged untouchables to "change your religion," advocating for conversion to a faith that did not recognize caste or untouchability. While both Christianity and Buddhism fit this criterion, Ambedkar leaned towards Buddhism, which had largely disappeared from India after Muslim invaders destroyed its temples and monasteries in the twelfth century. On October 14, 1956, after two decades of study, Ambedkar and thousands of other Dalits converted to Buddhism in a massive ceremony. In the following years, over four million Dalits embraced Buddhism, effectively stepping outside the mental framework of the caste system. Ambedkar consistently challenged Gandhi and the Indian National Congress on issues of Dalit rights and representation throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Nevertheless, upon India's independence, Jawaharlal Nehru appointed Ambedkar as India's first Minister of Law. Crucially for the position of Dalits in independent India, the new nation's temporary assembly elected Ambedkar chairman of the committee that drafted its constitution. Under his leadership, the constitution legally abolished untouchability and included safeguards for depressed minorities. Since independence, India has implemented affirmative action programs for what are officially termed "Scheduled Castes and Tribes." In 1997, fifty years after independence, India elected its first Dalit president, an event unimaginable during Ambedkar's lifetime. Despite these advancements, Dalits still face discrimination on many fronts. Ambedkar's birthday, April 14, is celebrated annually in India and worldwide. In his honor, the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway in Sunnyside was named "Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Way" in June 2023. This event marked the culmination of a four-year effort by the Shri Guru Ravidass Temple, a place of worship for members of the Ravidassia sect within Sikhism. As Balbir Chand Chumber, a community leader at the temple, stated, "People typecast Ambedkar as a Dalit leader, but he worked to secure the rights of all citizens of India. Today he is a global figure.”

Bernard M. Fineson (1905-1967) was an attorney who served as chief trial examiner for the New York State Labor Relations Board. A leading advocate in the movement to make a better world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Fineson was active in the National Association of Retarded Children (NARC), now known as The ARC, from its founding in 1950. He was elected as president of the organization in 1966, serving for eight months before his death in 1967 at the age of 62. Born in London, Fineson came to the United States in 1907. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from Brooklyn Law School, going on to the firm of Ferris and Kuh from 1929 to 1941 and then working in private practice from 1941 to 1943. In 1944, he joined the New York State Labor Relations Board, serving as trial examiner beginning in 1946 and then as chief trial examiner in 1950. That same year, he became active in the newly formed National Association of Retarded Children (now The ARC), serving as president of the New York State ARC chapter from 1953 to 1959 and as president of the New York City ARC chapter from 1953 to 1958. He was elected to the organization’s national board of directors in 1958 and again in 1961. On October 22, 1966, he was elected president. Fineson also served as president of the Jacob J. Javits Republican Club of Washington Heights. Fineson and his family were living in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the Bronx at the time of his death from cancer on June 10, 1967. He was survived at the time by his wife, Mildred (Wolfson) Fineson, two children, Luba and Harris, and two grandchildren. He is buried at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Glendale, New York. Run by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, the Bernard M. Fineson DDSO (Developmental Disabilities Serv