Captain Malcolm A. Rafferty (1861 - 1903) was a hero of the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. A Long Island City native, he returned home after the war and worked for the Barber Asphalt Company. He died of malaria in Trinidad in 1903.

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Ethel Plimack (1910 - 2018) Lived on her block in Sunnyside, Queens from 1941 until 2018, when she passed away at age 107. Plimack worked for more than 40 years with the NYC Board of Education until she was 70, and then took an administrative job at Marymount Manhattan College until she was 96 years-old. She was active in the community and served as treasurer and secretary of her block association, Washington Court, and was also heavily involved in gaining landmark status for Sunnyside Gardens. Ethel was an exceptional knitter, making many hundreds of sweaters, hats and scarves for family and friends. In her younger years, she was an avid folk dancer, traveling the world to learn new dances and meet others who shared her passion for dance. A legend in Sunnyside, she received recognition from local elected officials and former President Barack Obama.

Dr. Persia Campbell (1898-1974) was a member of the Queens College economics faculty from the school's early years, joining the department in 1940. Born in Australia, Campbell attended the University of Sydney and the London School of Economics before earning her Ph.D. at Columbia University. Her main area of focus was consumer protection and in particular, promoting legislation against "bait advertising" and other forms of fraud. Throughout her career, Campbell served as an advisor on consumer affairs and other economic issues to Presidents Roosevelt, Kennedy and Johnson, and to the governors of California and New York. She was also a frequent expert witness on consumer protection matters at congressional hearings. Campbell was named chair of the Queens College economics department in 1960 and held that position until her retirement in 1965. The dome that bears her name was constructed in 1962 as a special architectural feature of the Social Science Building (now Powdermaker Hall). In 1977, the dome was renamed to honor Campbell; it is primarily used as a lecture space.

Edwin Hoyt (1804-1874) was a businessman who lived in Astoria in the 1800s. he was the millionaire senior partner in Hoyt, Sprague, and Co., a dry goods business, with Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island. Hoyt’s son, Edwin Chase Hoyt, and Governor Sprague’s son both married daughters of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln, and later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. When Hoyt died on May 15, 1874, at the age of 70, all prominent dry goods businessmen kept their doors closed on the morning of his funeral out of respect for the deceased.

Michael Brennan (1973-2001), a New York City Firefighter, was a lifelong resident of the Sunnyside section of Queens. From a young age Michael wanted to be a firefighter, and he joined the NYPD are age 21. He was assigned to Ladder Company No. 4 in Manhattan. On September 11th Michael Brennan answered the call to the World Trade Center and perished in the collapse of the twin towers. He was survived by his loving parents‚ stepparents‚ 4 sisters‚ and 4 brothers.

Sgt. Jose Gomez (1982-2006) died at the age of 23 on April 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was three months into his second tour of duty with the 10th Cavalry, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. According to Maj. Gen. Bill Grisoli, Gomez moved his vehicle forward after the explosion to save and protect fellow soldiers in the convoy. Born in the Dominican Republic, Gomez came to Corona, Queens at age three. He graduated from Newtown High School in Elmhurst, where he was a member of the track team. His dream was to attend college, study mathematics, and become an accountant. He enlisted in the army in 2000 to finance his education. In 2003, he tragically lost his fiancée and fellow officer, Ana Laura Esparza-Gutierrez, to a similar roadside bomb attack. During his service, Jose earned numerous honors, including the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

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.

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (1943-1993) was born in Richmond, Virginia, and began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1966, he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he won the United States Intercollegiate Singles Championship and led his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. In 1968, Ashe made history by winning the men’s singles title at the U.S. Open. He was the first Black player selected for the United States Davis Cup team and remains the only Black man to have won singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. By 1975, Ashe was ranked as the number-one tennis player in the U.S. After a series of athletic triumphs, Ashe began to experience heart problems. He retired from tennis and underwent heart surgery in 1979 and again in 1983. During one of his hospital stays, Ashe likely received an HIV-tainted blood transfusion, which led to his contraction of AIDS. Despite his illness, he remained active in public life, participating in youth initiatives such as the National Junior Tennis League and the ABC Cities Tennis Program. Ashe also became a vocal critic of South African apartheid, which contributed to his being named the 1992 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. He passed away from pneumonia in New York at the age of 49.

Detective Brian P. Simonsen (1976-2019) was a 19-year veteran of the NYPD who was tragically killed in the line of duty on February 12, 2019, while responding to an armed robbery. The corner of Jamaica Avenue and 118th Street, which leads to the 102nd Precinct where he served his entire NYPD career, has been named in his honor.

Charles J. Vallone (1902-1967) was a judge on the Queens County Civil Court. He received his law degree from Fordham University in 1928 and went into private practice until being appointed to fill a vacancy on the court by Mayor Robert F. Wagner in 1955. He was then re-elected twice to the post, serving until his death in 1967. A number of Vallone's descendants have continued in public service, including his son Peter, a New York City Council member from 1974 to 2001, and grandsons Peter Jr. and Paul, both of whom have served as Council members from Queens.

Police Officer Edward Byrne (1966-1988) was a rookie officer who was killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1988. Byrne was shot several times in the head and died instantly as he sat in his police car while on assignment protecting a drug case witness at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, Queens. The cold-blooded killing, which was apparently a plot to intimidate witnesses from testifying against drug dealers, shocked the consciousness of the city. A year after the murder, four men were convicted and sentenced to the maximum sentences of 25 years to life for the crime. Byrne was single, 22, and living in Massapequa, Long Island, at the time he was murdered. He had joined the police force the previous July, and worked at the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens.

Lillian “Lily” Gavin (1931 – 2016) was the owner of Dazies Restaurant and a longtime community leader and advocate for Sunnyside. Gavin, was very active in several community groups, and served as president of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce, where her accomplishments included helping to raise $450,000 for a much-needed revamp of the Sunnyside Arch. Gavin was also heavily involved in neighborhood organizations, including the local YMCA, the Sunnyside Drum Corps, the Boys and Girls Club, the Queens Council of Tourism, the Sunnyside Senior Center, and was one of the first women to join the Sunnyside Kiwanis Club. Gavin also served as an honorary director of the LaGuardia Community College Foundation. She was a founding member of the Sunnyside Shines business improvement district and sponsored many events either financially or by providing food.

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.

Helen Marshall (1929-2017) was the first African American Queens Borough President from 2002 – 2013. Marshall was born in Manhattan to immigrant parents of African descent from Guyana. The family moved to Queens in 1949, settling first in Corona and then in East Elmhurst. Marshall graduated with a B.A. in education from Queens College. After teaching for eight years, she left to help found the Langston Hughes Library in 1969, where she was the first Director. She served in the State Assembly for 8 years and then served on the City Council for 10 years, before becoming the first African American and the second woman to serve as the Queens Borough President. She supported job training programs and economic development and was a devoted supporter of the Queens Public Library. The Helen M. Marshall School was founded in 2010 and moved to it's current building on Northern Boulevard between 110th and 111th streets in 2013. It serves students in Kindergarten through Grade 5.

In March, we celebrate Women's History Month by spotlighting the many female-identifying activists and organizers honored in the borough of Queens with place names.

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. Located on the campus of Queensborough Community College, Robert F. Kennedy Hall houses the Athletics Department and includes a fitness center, gymnasium, and near Olympic-sized aquatic center. Just months prior to his assassination, Senator Kennedy was invited to speak on campus and addressed a packed gymnasium on January 10, 1968. A dedication ceremony was held on May 18, 1969, at the building to name it in Kennedy’s honor. Other locations in Queens also named in recognition of his public service are Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge) and Robert F. Kennedy Community High School in Flushing.

Sarah Willets Meyer (1880-1939) (also spelled “Sara”) was a member of the Willets family, a clan that figured prominently in the early history of Queens after making their fortune in the mid-1800s in the whaling industry. In 1850, Robert Willets (1825-1889), Sarah’s grandfather, built a home on a 200-acre estate in what is now Bayside. Adjoined to Willets Point (now Fort Totten), the homestead became known as Shore Acres, and it was there that Sarah was raised and made her home. In 1939, she generously donated a portion of her family estate to New York City to allow for the construction of a segment of the Cross Island Parkway, which was part of the broader Belt Parkway project. Sarah was the last of her family to live at Shore Acres. After her death, the property was sold and, by the early 1960s, demolished. Sarah’s father, Gardiner Howland Leavitt, hailed from an affluent background and served for a period as president of Flushing Gas and Light. Her mother, Amelia Willets Leavitt, was one of two daughters of Robert Willets. When Robert died in 1889, Amelia inherited Shore Acres and the surrounding estate, which then passed to Sarah in 1923. On October 8, 1902, Sarah married Charles Garrison Meyer, the son of real estate developer Cord Meyer. Special cars were attached to the Long Island Rail Road to bring guests to their ceremony and reception, which took place at Shore Acres and included some 600 attendees. The following week, the newlyweds sailed for Gibraltar and Europe for their honeymoon. Together, they had four children: Margaret, Charles Jr., Gardiner, and S. Willets. Shore Acres was considered a high society showplace, and it was the site of many festivities over the course of its heyday in the Gay 90s, when Sarah’s parents hosted a variety of grand balls and masquerades. Sarah and Charles continued this tradition, offering society events and benefits, such as a 400-guest ladies’ card party fundraiser on June 19, 1929, that Sarah held for the North Shore Centre of the Family Welfare Society. On March 31, 1939, Sarah died at her Manhattan residence at 800 Park Avenue, and she and her husband, Charles, are buried in Flushing Cemetery. In recognition of her gift of land to complete the highway construction, the City installed a bronze plaque on a wall under the Cross Island Parkway at Bell Boulevard near Fort Totten. The plaque reads: “In grateful recognition of the gift by Sara Willets Meyer of the land on which this bridge and a portion of the Belt Parkway have been built. — Anno Domini MCMXXXIX”

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.  The City of New York acquired the land for this playground in April 1955, and it opened in August 1957 as J.H.S. 198 Playground. The playground contains benches and a softball field for the school and the community. Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern changed the name in 1985 to Benjamin Cardozo Playground, physically commemorating the life of a man who left an indelible mark on New York City.

Andrew Christopher Brunn (1973 – 2011) died in the line of duty in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11‚ 2001 as a member of Ladder 5 in Greenwich Village. He served in the New York Air National Guard as a member of the 213 Engineering Installation Squadron for 10 years, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant. He began his service in New York City as an NYPD officer in August 1993, attaining the rank of Sergeant in January 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Wanting to do more for New York and its people‚ he joined the FDNY in May 2001. Even though he was still a ‘probie’ when he died‚ the officers and firefighters of his firehouse knew he would have been one of the ‘great ones.’ He was a natural leader and dedicated family man.

As part of his groundbreaking work as a journalist and photographer, Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) became a champion for social reforms that would help elevate people out of poverty. Riis was born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark, and immigrated to New York in 1870. He worked various jobs before he was hired by the New York Tribune as a police reporter in 1877. He began working documenting poverty, especially in the Lower East Side and Five Points areas in Manhattan. Riis brought along a camera starting around 1887, and in 1890 his book How the Other Half Lives was released, which contained dramatic photos and essays illustrating the challenging lives of immigrants in the Lower East Side. The book had a big impact across the country, but in New York especially, where the Police Commissioner at the time was Theodore Roosevelt. Prior to becoming president, Riis' work inspired him to support legislation aimed at improving living conditions in the slums. Following in the footsteps of New York's settlement house pioneers, Riis helped the Circle of the King’s Daughters create and grow a settlement in the Lower East Side in the 1890s, and in 1901 it was renamed in his honor. It initially provided support for medical staff that offered help in the slums, but grew to provide health care, classes, and childcare support for those in need, as well. While on a speaking tour in 1914, Riis fell ill at a stop in New Orleans. His family brought him to their summer home in Barre, Massachusetts to recuperate, but he passed away on May 26, 1914. His legacy continued, though, and over the next several decades the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement grew. The Queensbridge Houses opened in 1950. Queensbridge became the organization’s official headquarters in 1952, and by 1957, all Riis Settlement activities were consolidated at the Queensbridge site. Their work continues to this day, supporting youth, families, immigrants, and older adults of western Queens. Two other locations in Queens are also named for Riis: Jacob Riis Park in Rockaway Beach and Jacob Riis Triangle near where he lived in Richmond Hill.

Dr. Margaret V. Kiely (1894-1978 ) was the first Dean of Faculty at Queens College, serving from the school’s inception in 1937 until 1959. She also held the position of Acting President for two years, stepping in when President Paul Klapper was on leave during the 1947-48 school year and staying on after his retirement until the search for the school’s second president was concluded in 1949. Before joining the administration of the new college, Kiely was principal and director of the City Normal School of Bridgeport, Conn., and president of the Connecticut State Teachers Association. In 1929, she was a delegate to the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection. Over the course of her career, she was a member of the State Commission on Higher Education in Connecticut and president of the National Association of Municipal Normal Schools and Teachers Colleges. Kiely was also on the board of trustees of Columbia University Teachers College and the advisory board of Albertus Magnus College. She received her Ph.D. from Teachers College. In 1983, Queens College renamed the Academic II building in Kiely’s honor. The 13-story Kiely Hall, built in 1968, houses classrooms, large lecture halls and many administrative departments.

The entrance to Hortense Powdermaker Hall on the campus of Queens College.

In honor of Black History Month 2025, this collection spotlights individuals featured in the Queens Name Explorer whose names carry historical significance. From outspoken ministers to pioneering musicians to female leaders in public service, this small sampling provides a glimpse into the histories of Elmhurst, Corona, Flushing, St. Albans, Jamaica, Hollis, and Kew Garden Hills. This collection coincides with an exhibit running from January 30 to April 20, 2025 at Culture Lab LIC, 5-25 46th Avenue, Queens, NY 11101.

Richard Cecere (1943-2007) was born and raised in Jackson Heights and was a Community Board 3 chairman and civic activist. A few of Cecere’s projects with the community board were geographic information mapping of the ethnicities in the area, research on small immigrant businesses, and studying the effects bringing the 2012 Olympics to New York would have had on Queens. He was known for his forward-thinking, progressive nature. In addition to his work with CB3, Cecere served as President of the Jackson Heights Kiwanis Club, President of the John F. Kennedy Democratic Club, and was an active member of the New Visions Democratic Club, the Newtown Senior Center in Elmhurst, and the United Community Civic Association. Cecere was known for his love of doo-wop and once hosted a radio show dedicated to it.

In the course of his 25 years in politics, Joseph Addabbo (1925-1986) won much respect from his colleagues, constituents and community for his ability to be just, compassionate and effective. A lifelong resident of Ozone Park, he was educated at City College and St. John’s University, where he received his law degree in 1946. Addabbo began his career as a lawyer. First elected to represent the 6th District in Queens in 1960, Addabbo, a Democrat, was re-elected to Congress 12 times. He supported legislation to benefit the elderly, education, small businesses, veterans benefits, and appropriation of funds for economically depressed areas. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (1979-1986), Addabbo played a powerful role in both shaping and challenging national defense policy. He worked to curb defense spending, sponsored legislation to halt the Vietnam War, and advocated a nuclear freeze while at the same time bolstering defense contracts for New York. Addabbo served in Congress until he died on April 10, 1986.

Program booklet for the dedication of the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner Clock Tower in 1989.

Firefighter Steven Belson (1950-2001) was killed at the World Trade Center during fire and rescue operations following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

John Bowne (1627-1695) was an English emigrant who arrived in in New Netherland, or Vlissingen (now Flushing) in 1649. He fought against Governor Pieter Stuyvesant's edict to restrict religious freedom by allowing Quakers to meet in his home. Bowne was arrested, fined and imprisoned for months by Gov. Stuyvesant and even deported due to his religious activities, though he was later set free by the Directors of the West India Company. He returned to his home later and acquired more land, including that designated for the Flushing Quaker Meeting House and a burial ground, where he was buried upon his death in 1695. Flushing had the previous name of Flushing Creeke by the original inhabitants who lived there, the Matinecock people, part of the larger Algonquin nation. While the Matinecock people are said to have sold land to the Dutch, and possibly to Bowne as well, there was also documented violence against them prior to this, as well as a smallpox epidemic that devastated the community years later in 1652. Members of the Matinecock tribe remain in Queens today.

Ferdinand Foch (1851 – 1929), was a French general and the marshal of France and who served as Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. He is generally considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory. Foch was born in Tarbes, France, his father was a civil servant. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, the 17-year-old Foch enlisted in the French 4th Infantry Regiment in 1868. He entered the artillery corps in 1873 and from 1885 taught military strategy at the war college, becoming its commandant in 1908. After World War I broke out, he commanded an army detachment and planned the strategy that enabled Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre to win the First Battle of the Marne. After commanding at the Battles of Ypres and the Somme, Foch was appointed chief of the general staff in 1917, adviser to the Allied armies, and then in 1918, commander in chief of all Allied armies, winning the battlefield against Erich Ludendorff. When Germany was forced to ask for an armistice, the conditions were dictated by the recently promoted Marshal Foch. Considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory, he was showered with honors after the war and was buried near Napoleon in the Invalides.

Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a civil rights activist and a prominent leader in the Black nationalist movement in the late 1950s and early 1960s. On February 21, 1965, while preparing to deliver a lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights, he was assassinated when several gunmen rushed the stage and shot him at close range. Three members of the Nation of Islam were tried and sentenced for his murder, though two were later exonerated. The Autobiography of Malcolm X, written by Malcolm X in collaboration with author Alex Haley and published posthumously, is considered a classic of American autobiographical literature. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, he was the fourth of seven children of Reverend Earl Little, who worked as a local president and organizer for the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), a Black nationalist group led by Marcus Garvey, and Louise (Norton) Little, a Grenadine-born American who worked as division secretary for the UNIA. His father’s work led to death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, forcing the family to relocate several times, and they eventually settled in East Lansing, Michigan. When Malcolm was six years old, his father died in what was officially ruled a streetcar accident, though he was possibly the victim of white supremacists. In 1939, his mother was committed to a mental institution. After living in foster homes for a period, Malcolm eventually moved to Boston. In 1946, he was arrested on charges of larceny and served time in prison, where he converted to the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Malcolm X. After his release in 1952, he began working with the movement’s leader, Elijah Mohammad, to expand membership nationwide. In 1958, Malcolm married Betty Sanders, and together the couple had six daughters. In 1964, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam following disagreements with the leadership. He traveled widely in North Africa and the Middle East and underwent a second conversion to traditional Islam, changing his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. In 1965, he established the Organization of Afro-American Unity as a secular platform to unify Black Americans with the people of Africa and to build solidarity with the developing world by shifting the focus from civil rights to human rights. The Malcolm X Garden is located in North Corona at 33-02 112th Street and 111-26 Northern Boulevard. In addition to the Garden, Malcolm X Place in East Elmhurst is also named in his honor.

Doris “Dorie” Miller (1919 – 1943), was a World War II hero who shot down several enemy planes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross for valor. Miller joined the US Navy on September 19, 1939, at age 19 and was assigned to the Messman Branch. At the time, African Americans were limited to positions on supply ships. The easy-going serviceman was described as an impressive 200 lbs., and over 6 feet tall. On December 7, 1941, he was assigned as a Mess Attendant aboard the ammunition supply ship Pyro anchored in Pearl Harbor. In the Japanese attack that day, the Pyro was struck by at least six torpedoes and two bombs. Miller, leaving his post, raced to his ship commander Captain Mervyn Bennion, who was mortally wounded. After helping move the captain to a safer place, Miller, in the midst of bombing and a flame-swept deck, proceeded to help pass ammunition to two machine gun positions. When one of the gunners was killed, Miller took over his position and he downed at least two Japanese planes and as many as six. Shortly after, he was ordered to leave the bridge as bombing and danger increased. Dorie Miler was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester W. Nmitz to become the first US Hero of WW II and the first African American to receive the Navy's highest award. Two years later, on November 24, 1943, Miller was among more than seven hundred crew members who died in the sinking of the USS Liscombe Bay, torpedoed by an enemy submarine. In his honor, the Navy named a Knox class frigate ship the USS Miller. In December 1953, the first of three hundred families moved into the six buildings of the Dorie Miller Housing Cooperative. 34th Avenue between 112th and 114th is known as Dorie Miller Place.

Mamie Fay (1872-1949) was the first principal of P.S. 122 in Astoria, now named in her honor as P.S. 122 The Mamie Fay School, where she served from 1925 until her retirement in 1942. Following the consolidation of Queens into New York City in 1898, she became the first teacher in the borough to be designated as a principal. As a member of the Queensborough Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, she also worked to protect children’s rights. Born in Brooklyn to John and Mary Archer Fay, Mamie graduated from Flushing High School and Columbia University before beginning her career in education as a teacher in 1898. In 1905, she earned her principal’s license. Five years later, she became principal of what was then P.S. 7 in Astoria, moving on to serve at P.S. 122 when it first opened in 1925. She was active in her community, serving as a member of the Teachers’ Council of the City of New York, the New York Principals Association, the Teachers’ Organization for Women’s Suffrage, and the League of Women Voters. In addition, she was the first woman to become a member of the Queensborough Chamber of Commerce. Fay died at her home in Flushing on March 19, 1949. On September 20, 2024, the section of Ditmars Boulevard between 21st and 23rd Streets in Astoria was co-named Mamie Fay Way in her honor. The street is located directly in front of P.S. 122 Mamie Fay School where she served for 17 years.

Paul Russo (1986 – 2018) was a lifelong resident of Ozone Park and is remembered as a young man of deep faith who dedicated much of his life to helping others. He attended local schools and was involved with local sports and Little League associations. He was also a member of the Frassati Fellowship of NYC, a Catholic group of young people dedicated to prayer and charity work. He worked as a real estate agent, and participated in volunteer-led efforts to build homes for the homeless in the United States as well as Central and South America,. Paul’s zeal for helping the poor was an inspiration to many others in the community. Paul passed away in 2018 at 33 after a long and courageous battle with cancer, and was survived by his mother, Antha, and father George Russo, owner of the Villa Russo in Richmond Hill, and president of the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens. He also left behind four siblings and many, many friends.

Detective Keith L. Williams (1954 - 1989) Williams was killed on November 13, 1989, while transporting a prisoner from court to back to Riker’s Island. Williams was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens. He attended Jamaica High School, where he played varsity basketball for four years, and Long Island University in Brooklyn. He began his career in the Department of Corrections where he worked until his appointment to the Police Academy in 1981, serving in both Bushwick and South Brooklyn before becoming a detective for the Queens District Attorney’s Squad in 1987. Williams was a dedicated officer and citizen who coached teen-agers in a neighborhood basketball league and started the Keith Roundball Classics, a basketball tournament in Liberty Park. He also sponsored an after-school program at P.S. 116. He received two Excellent Police Duty citations and was honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor in 1990.

Born on February 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, George Washington was born into a prosperous family, and was privately educated. He gained early experience as a land surveyor, and then joined the militia, serving as an officer in the French and Indian Wars from 1755-1758. Rising to the rank of colonel, he resigned his post, married Martha Dandridge (1731-1802), and returned as a gentleman farmer to the family plantation at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he resided with his wife, Martha. He soon reentered public life, and served in succession as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1759-1774), and as a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses (1774-1775). Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Washington was made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. His military prowess and inspirational leadership held the colonial armies together against overwhelming odds, and secured the evacuation and defeat of the British in 1783. Washington again retired to Mount Vernon, but his dissatisfaction with the new provisional government, caused him to resume an active role, and in 1787 he presided over the second federal constitutional convention in Philadelphia. He was then unanimously chosen first president of the United States, and was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789.  Washington was reelected to a second term in 1893, declined a third term, and retired from political life in 1797. Often referred to as “the father of our country,” Washington is universally regarded as having been instrumental in winning the American Revolution and in the establishment of the new nation.

Frank Carvill (1952-2004) was an immigrant rights campaigner who was killed on National Guard duty in Iraq. Carvill was a founding member of the Irish Immigration Reform and also a founding member of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, where he was later its treasurer and a board member. He was killed in Iraq on June 4 in a landmine attack on a vehicle in which he was traveling. He and another soldier killed in the same attack and were the first New Jersey National Guards to be killed in combat since World War II.

In the course of his 25 years in politics, Joseph Addabbo (1925-1986) won much respect from his colleagues, constituents and community for his ability to be just, compassionate and effective. A lifelong resident of Ozone Park, he was educated at City College and St. John’s University, where he received his law degree in 1946. Addabbo began his career as a lawyer. First elected to represent the 6th District in Queens in 1960, Addabbo, a Democrat, was re-elected to Congress 12 times. He supported legislation to benefit the elderly, education, small businesses, veterans benefits, and appropriation of funds for economically depressed areas. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (1979-1986), Addabbo played a powerful role in both shaping and challenging national defense policy. He worked to curb defense spending, sponsored legislation to halt the Vietnam War, and advocated a nuclear freeze while at the same time bolstering defense contracts for New York. Addabbo served in Congress until he died on April 10, 1986. The area bounded by 80th and 83rd Streets, 133rd Avenue and North Conduit Avenue was named for Addabbo in 1986. It is one section of Tudor Park, which consists of 24.2 acres acquired as parkland between 1915 and 1974.

Robert R. Pellicane (1924-1950) was a pilot from Hollis and a first lieutenant in the 137th Squadron of the 52nd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard in White Plains. On May 3, 1950, Pellicane died in a plane crash when he missed the field as he was landing his F47 Thunderbolt fighter following a routine flight at the Westchester County Airport. He was 26 years old, and it was the first recorded fatality at the airport since its opening in 1943. Pellicane was the third of four children of Italian-immigrant parents Joseph and Catherine C. Pellicane. His father worked as a life insurance agent, and in the early 1930s, the family lived in Woodhaven. At the time of the accident, Pellicane was studying law at St. John’s University in Brooklyn and would have graduated in June. A veteran of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II, Pellicane received the Distinguished Flying Cross and two other battle decorations for his wartime service. He is buried in St. John Roman Catholic Cemetery in Middle Village, and a plaque in his memory is located at 193rd Street and Hillside Avenue in Hollis, about half a mile from where his parents lived at the time of his death. The plaque was dedicated in 1957 and is attached to a flagpole in the traffic median. It reads: “IN MEMORY OF/ ROBERT R. PELLICANE/ BORN APRIL 10, 1924/ DIED MAY 3, 1950/ 1ST LIEUTENANT/ 52ND FIGHTER WING/ 1957.”

Carl Clemens (1908-1989), a reporter, editor, and publisher of The Ridgewood Times, was a well-known community activist in the Ridgewood area. He began his career at the Ridgewood Times at 16 years old as a copy boy. For a period, the paper also operated a radio station, WHN, where Clemens announced sports, weather, and news. This station was later sold to Loew's Theaters. Clemens became a co-owner of the paper in 1933, eventually purchasing the entire newspaper and the Ridgewood Times building in 1955. He then served as its editor and publisher until his retirement in the 1980s. Clemens’s involvement with The Times fostered extensive collaboration with local civic groups, working to improve libraries, schools, senior centers, and other community establishments. In 1975, he co-founded the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society with other residents. The group's primary goal, which they successfully achieved, was to save an abandoned Onderdonk Farmhouse which dates back to the 1600s. Clemens also generously provided meeting space in the Ridgewood Times building for community board meetings. In the late 1960s, Mayor John Lindsay appointed Clemens as an honorary Commissioner of Public Events, and in 1985, Mayor Edward I. Koch renamed this intersection in Ridgewood in his honor.

Thomas J. Travers (1897-1958), was a prominent Queens Democrat and Jackson Heights community leader. Born and raised in Manhattan, he attended St. Agnes Church and Parochial School and MacDowell Lyceum. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, he returned to New York to marry his childhood sweetheart, Ann Desmond. The couple settled in Jackson Heights, where Travers took an active part in the social and political life of the community. In addition to his involvement with St. Joan of Arc Church, the Catholic Youth Organization, and the Jackson Heights Sandlot Baseball League, he was an active member of the Jackson Heights Taxpayers Association and the Queens Chamber of Commerce. During World War II, he worked on three War Loans Committees and chaired the Jackson Heights Committee for the New York War Fund. He served as Democratic District Leader for Woodside-Jackson Heights from 1940 until his death in 1958.

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.

Kingsland Homestead is the former home of Captain Joseph King (1757-1843), a British sea merchant and commercial farmer who settled in Queens. Located in Flushing, the two-story home with attic was dubbed “Kingsland” by Captain King when he purchased the property in 1801 from his father-in-law. The Dutch Colonial style farmhouse consists of twelve rooms, and it is considered one of the earliest examples of the residential style of construction common in Long Island in the 18th and 19th centuries. Kingsland Homestead was designated as a historic landmark in 1965. The home was originally built around 1785 for Charles Doughty, himself the son of Benjamin Doughty, a wealthy Quaker who purchased the land in Flushing. King married Charles Doughty’s daughter and bought the farmhouse from him, settling there to raise livestock and to grow corn and wheat for sale. Together with his wife, the couple had two children, Mary Ann and Joseph. King’s family and his descendants continued to live in the farmhouse until the 1930s when hardships of the Great Depression forced them to sell. In 1965, the home was declared a New York City historic landmark, the first structure in Queens to receive this honor. Three years later, when plans for a shopping center put the home at risk of demolition, it was moved from its original site (at 40-25 155th Street near Northern Boulevard) to its current location about one mile west at Weeping Beech Park in Flushing (at 143-35 37th Avenue). The structure now serves as the home of the Queens Historical Society.

Roy Ottoway Wilkins (1901-1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, he worked for the weekly newspaper, the Kansas City Call. His reporting on the treatment of blacks in Army flood control projects helped to bring about change. In 1931 he began working with the NAACP, eventually serving as as Executive Director from 1955-1977. In 1963 her helped organize the March on Washington. In 1967 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Lyndon Johnson.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950) was an educator, historian, philosopher, journalist, and mentor to African American scholars. Known as the “Father of Black History,” Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Inspired by his belief that it is necessary for a race to have a history or it will be made insignificant, and that the study of African American history would make for a better society, he founded Negro History Week in 1926. Woodson chose February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, and this yearly celebration of Black history and culture is now recognized as Black History Month. Woodson was born in New Canton, Virginia, to James Henry and Anne Eliza (Riddle) Woodson. His parents were formerly enslaved, and Woodson was the fourth of their seven children. In his childhood, he worked as a sharecropper, miner, and other jobs to help support his family. In 1892, he moved with his brother to West Virginia, where he worked in the coal mines. Woodson began his studies at Frederick Douglass High School in Huntington at the age of 20 and graduated in less than two years. In 1903, he earned a bachelor's degree in literature from Berea College in Kentucky. For the next four years, Woodson served as an education superintendent for the U.S. government in the Philippines. In 1908, he was awarded a second bachelor’s along with a master’s in European history from the University of Chicago. In 1912, he earned his doctorate in history from Harvard University, becoming the second African American, after W.E.B. Du Bois, and the first child of formerly enslaved people in the United States to earn a PhD. In 1916, he founded The Journal of Negro History, now named The Journal of African American History, a scholarly publication of the ASALH. He served as principal of the Armstrong Manual Training School in Washington, D.C., in 1918, and left a year later to become the dean of the School of Liberal Arts and head of the graduate faculty at Howard University. From 1920 to 1922, he filled the role of dean at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University). Woodson formed the Associated Publishers Press in 1921, which he ran out of his home in Washington, D.C. The business served as an outlet for works by him and his fellow Black scholars. In 1937, he created the Negro History Bulletin (now the Black History Bulletin) to help educators teach African American history. Woodson was active in civil rights as a lifelong member of both the NAACP and the National Urban League. His many published works include The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1915), A Century of Negro Migration (1918), The Negro in Our History (1922), and the Mis-Education of the Negro (1933). He died on April 3, 1950, in his home in Washington, D.C., and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland. In 1976, his home was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Initiated by Miss Gertrude McBrown and Mrs. Ruby A. Carter, officers of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the ASALH), the Carter G. Woodson Reference Collection of African American Culture and Life was dedicated at the Queens Central Library in May 1968. Located on the Library’s main floor, it has grown to be a more-than-4,000 volume reference collection covering many aspects of African American culture and life.

Private William Earl Gray (1947-1967), was a Corona resident who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country during the Vietnam War. Born in Stanton, Tennessee, Gray moved to New York with his family, including four sisters and five brothers, in 1956. He attended Brooklyn Automotive High School, where he enjoyed playing basketball. At 18, Gray enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Private First Class with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam, beginning his tour of duty in December 1966. Tragically, he was severely wounded in combat in Gia Dihn, South Vietnam, in February 1967 and soon died from his injuries. The playground, located on 98th Street between Northern Boulevard and 32nd Avenue, officially came under the Parks Department's care in May 1967, when they obtained a permit from the Department of Real Estate. Its development was funded by a Federal Urban Beautification Demonstration Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Edward Fisher (1904-1970), a neighbor, friend, and mentor to Gray, and a member of the East Elmhurst – North Corona Community Board 3, spearheaded the effort to name the park after Private Gray following his death. Mayor John V. Lindsay and Parks Commissioner August Heckscher attended the dedication ceremony in the summer of 1968. In 1990, the Parks Department installed new play equipment with safety surfacing, along with benches and plantings. However, the City did not officially transfer ownership of the property to the Parks Department until 1992.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) grew up in Tuscan, with his father. He practiced sculpture, architecture, engineering, and scientific inquiry, but was most known for his paintings. Born during the Renaissance era he studied under the sculptor Andrea Verrocchio. He quickly gained artistic skills and joined Compagnia di San Luca in Florentine at 20. For most of his artistic career, Leonardo bounced back and forth between Florence and Milan. He first moved to Milan in 1483. There, he undertook projects like The Virgin of the Rocks and the famous illustration for “On the Divine Proportions” named the Golden Ratio. After living 16 years in Milan, the French invaded, prompting Leonardo to go back to Florence, where he created his iconic portrait, the ‘Mona Lisa’. Leonardo returned to Milan in 1508, serving under French rulers. As a result, his work was influenced by religious practices, and he began working on a composition known as The Virgin and the Child. Despite battling ill health, including paralysis from a stroke, Leonardo continued his scientific exploration of anatomy, architecture, and other fields. Some of his works include a helicopter blueprint, parachute, flying machine, and scuba gear. In 1519, Leonardo died, leaving his estate to his pupil Francesco Melzi.

Albert C. Benninger (1885-1937), a former Queens Parks Commissioner, was born in the town of Germany, Canada. He moved to the United States at age four and later joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the Spanish-American War (1898-1899). In 1905, after leaving the military, Benninger settled in Glendale, Queens. Seven years later, he was elected Queens Assemblyman and subsequently served on the Board of Aldermen. He briefly held the position of Commissioner of Public Works in 1916. Two years later, Mayor John F. Hylan (1869-1936) appointed Benninger as Commissioner of the Queens Parks Department. He retired from this role in 1928 but was re-appointed two years later, serving until 1933. From 1933 to 1937, he was the Federal Marshal for the Eastern District of New York.