Part of New York City since 1898, the outer 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.