Giovanelli, Felix Bruno (1913-1962) | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Felix Bruno Giovanelli was born on January 2, 1913, in Eveleth, MN. He was the son of Italian immigrants; his father, Miliano Giovanelli (circa 1882-?), was a coal miner. Giovanelli attended the University of Illinois, where he earned a BA, MA, and PhD, and fostered an interest in Catholic novelists. He presented on "Modern Catholic Novelists" at the St. Louis University Lecture Forum in 1939.

In 1940, Giovanelli began working at St. Louis University as Assistant Professor of Romance Languages, having a background in French. During World War II, Giovanelli spoke for the interests of Italian Americans and advocated for an Italian Legion "to fight against Mussolini and the Fascist regime." He relocated to New York in 1945, joining the faculty of New York University. Giovanelli also reviewed books for The New Leader and Italica, and served as a translator of French, Spanish, German, and Italian novels, short stories, and articles for The New Leader, The Saturday Review, and The Reporter.

Giovanelli married Wargaret Wixsom (1915-1997) on December 31, 1936. He died of complications from cancer in 1962 and is buried in Paris, IL.

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"Felix Giovanelli, Educator, Was 49." The New York Times, Saturday, July 28, 1962.

"Free Italian Group Proposed in St. Louis." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11 January 1943.

"U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: University of Illinois; Year: 1935.

"150 Topics on St. L. U. Lecture Forum." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 26 November 1939.