Queens Gazette

Famous People Of Queens, By Rob MacKay


Famous People of Queens by Rob MacKay (Arcadia Publishing, on sale Feb. 6, $23.99, 128 pp.).

Famous People of Queens by Rob MacKay (Arcadia Publishing, on sale Feb. 6, $23.99, 128 pp.).

Part of New York City since 1898, the borough of Queens has a long history as a landing spot for immigrants and a place where first-time home buyers achieve the American Dream. The first European set­tlers came from Holland and England in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the middle and late 19th century, German and Irish refugees escaped political and economic turmoil by moving to the borough before Southern African Americans, Eastern Eu­ropean Jews, Italians, Asians, and Latinos arrived in the 20th century. Borough na­tives include athletes with world records such as triple jump champion Bob Bea­mon, entrepreneurial captains of industry like the Home Depot’s Arthur Blank, Nobel Prize-winning scientists Richard Feynman and Gerald Edelman, and Hol­lywood entertainers such as Bernadette Peters and Rodney Dangerfield. Famous People of Queens looks at some of the bor­ough’s most notable residents. With about 200 photographs and long, informative captions, this book consists of dozens of mini biographies that explain how the bor­ough helped these overachievers make it.

Rob MacKay is a longtime, award-winning community journalist who cur­rently works for the Queens Economic Development Corporation. He authored Images of America: Historic Houses of Queens and also operates various social media channels that promote local restau­rants, shops, and tourism attractions.

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