Verrazzano, Giovanni da (b. c. 1485; d. 1528). Explorer. Giovanni da Verrazzano was born of Tuscan merchant nobility in either Lyons, France, or, more likely, Castello Verazzano, about thirty miles south of Florence. He was educated in Florence, and was a keen student of mathematics. After seafaring experience in the eastern Mediterranean and perhaps a voyage to Newfoundland, he was placed in command of a fleet supplied by King Francis I of France and a syndicate of Florentine merchants in Lyons. Clearly his goal was to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean and Asia. His letter to the king, dated July 8, 1524, outlines his voyage, which began in Dieppe in late 1523. Verrazzano reached the North American coast at Cape Fear, North Carolina, about March 1, 1524, coasted south to somewhere north of Charleston, and then north to perhaps Cape Fogo in modern Canada, from which he returned to France. He touched the New Jersey coast first at Barnegat, and hugged the shoreline up to New York Bay, naming many of the coastline’s features for prominent people and places in France. New Jersey itself he declared to be "Lorraine,” for the powerful Charles, cardinal of Lorraine, and capes and rivers received the monikers of royal family members and military leaders. None of the names stuck, and none can even be correlated to specific places today. Verrazzano also explored New York Bay in mid-April, including the Upper Bay, but none of the rivers. After coasting along what became New England, he reached Dieppe on July 8, 1524. He led two other voyages, in 1527 and 1528. On the first he successfully returned with Brazilian logwood (a dyestuff). He died—said to have been eaten by cannibals on Guadaloupe Island—on the second voyage.
Victor Talking Machine Company. Founded in Camden in 1901 by Eldridge Reeves Johnson, the Victor Talking Machine Company grew to be the world’s largest manufacturer of phonographs and records. Johnson was a machinist who began improving Emile Berliner’s gramophone sound reproduction system in 1896. The hand-wound disc record then "sounded very much like a partially educated parrot with a sore throat and a cold in the head.” Five years later, after considerable technical success with spring-wound motors and cleaner recording techniques, Johnson incorporated Victor to rationalize a disc record industry fractured by patent and commercial disputes. Together with partner Leon Douglass and other friends in the privately held company, Johnson increased the popular appeal of the disc system so much that it surpassed Thomas Edison’s cylinder phonograph in sales by 1907.
Johnson based his strategy for success on a blend of advertising, celebrity performers, continuous improvements to his products, and vertical integration of the company. By the early 1920s, Johnson and Victor established the disc record as the leading medium for sound reproduction, driving not only Edison’s cylinder but the music box and other home music players to commercial extinction. Victor led the phonograph industry to a growth rate in the first two decades of the century surpassed only by that of the automobile. The company was known around the world for its trademark of "His Master’s Voice,” the image of a terrier named Nipper listening to a record on a Victor phonograph. It sold exclusive recordings of the leading operatic performers, most notably Enrico Caruso, on its $2 to $7 "Red Seal” discs, and jazz and popular performers on its 75-cent black-labeled records. Middle- and upper-class consumers bought the stylish and warm-sounding enclosed-horn "Victrola” phonographs for $15 to $500 on installment plans. Ten thousand Camden workers turned African mahogany, brass, shellac, and other raw materials into hand-carved cabinets, precision playback machinery, and shiny black discs. Some ten thousand dealers around the United States sold the players and records alongside sheet music and musical instruments.
The twenty years of "hard pounding” that this success required took its toll on Johnson. He, like Douglass, suffered from nervous exhaustion but, unlike his partner, Johnson stayed with his company. In the early 1920s, however, Victor suffered from Johnson’s periodic incapacity and his resistance to electronic innovation. The basic patents for disc recording and reproduction began to expire as consumer interest in broadcast radio exploded. The novelty and appeal of free programming outweighed the poor quality of sound reception in radio, but it was not until the spring of 1925 that Victor’s management negotiated contracts with AT&T and RCA for electronic sound recording and radio technology. The dramatic improvement of "Ortho-phonic” sound saved the company that fall, enabling Johnson to sell it in 1927 to two Wall Street banks. As Victor set new sales records in 1929, RCA negotiated its purchase for $157 million and turned the company into its manufacturing division. In the words of RCA president David Sarnoff, after nearly thirty years, 7.8 million phonographs, and 591 million records, "the little dog changed its master.”
This sculpture by Thomas Jay Warren, at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel, pays tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War.
Victory Gardens. 0.20-square-milebor-ough in Morris County. The newest and smallest municipality in Morris County, Victory Gardens was originally a planned 300-unit housing project, built in 1941 to house workers employed at Picatinny Arsenal and other nearby defense-related industries during World War II. The project, initiated approximately two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, was completed in six months. The municipality of Randolph agreed to provide services to the community in exchange for government subsidies. Unfortunately, not everyone accepted the new community. The residents of Victory Gardens were mostly Democrats living in a Republican stronghold. Many older citizens viewed them as a political threat. The end of government subsidies after the war caused further resentment among many of Randolph’s longtime residents. On September 18, 1951, Randolph officials held a public referendum to determine the future of Victory Gardens. Residents voted 735 to 711 in favor of making Victory Gardens independent. Only 30 of Victory Garden’s 513 voters voted for secession. Randolph then successfully petitioned the state legislature to expel Victory Gardens. After unsuccessfully attempting to join with neighboring Dover, Victory Gardens incorporated as a separate borough in 1952. Today, despite a history of financial difficulties, Victory Gardens continues to exist as a residential suburb.
In 2000 Victory Gardens’ total population of 1,546 was 51 percent white, 21 percent black, 5 percent Asian, and 51 percent Hispanic (His-panics maybe of any race). The median household income was $44,375. For complete census figures, see chart, 137.
Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial and Vietnam Era Educational Center. The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, in Holmdel, is an open-air structure made up of 366 polished black granite panels—one for each day of the year. Engraved on each of these panels are the names of the 1,556 New Jerseyans killed or reported missing on that date. Hien Nguyen, who fled war-torn South Vietnam in 1975, designed the memorial. At the center a red oak, the official state tree, shades a grouping of three bronze statues sculpted by artist Thomas Jay Warren. The oversize statues represent the men who died, those who came home, and the women who served beside them. The memorial was dedicated on May 7, 1995, and is operated by the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation. Located adjacent to the memorial is the Vietnam Era Educational Center. Dedicated in 1998, it is the first educational center in the country devoted solely to gaining an understanding of the violent conflict in Southeast Asia and the political strife in America. The center provides appropriate materials and exhibits to help visitors understand the significance of the memorial, the reality of the conflict, and the social, political, and cultural complexities of the war years. Both the memorial and the educational center are operated by the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation.
Vietnam War. To prevent Vietnam from falling to the communists after World War II, the United States provided aid to France as it attempted to reclaim its former colony. New Jersey’s connection to developments in Vietnam began when the Maryknoll Seminary in Lakewood hosted Ngo Dinh Diem from early 1951 until May 1953. Diem lectured on Vietnam at universities and met with influential people, including Francis Cardinal Spellman and Senators John F. Kennedy and Mike Mansfield. With backing from the United States, Ngo Dinh Diem served as president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) from 1954 to 1963. Diem was opposed by the National Liberation Front (NLF), which supported guerrillas known as the Vietcong and received assistance from the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).
From 1960 through 1963, the number of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam grew from several hundred to more than fifteen thousand. On August 7, 1964, Congress voted to permit President Lyndon B. Johnson "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” in Vietnam. Johnson ordered sustained bombing of North Vietnam starting March 2,1965, while U.S. ground troops in South Vietnam searched out and destroyed communist forces.
Of approximately 1,435 New Jerseyans killed in action in Vietnam, four were posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Marine Staff Sergeant Peter S. Connor of South Orange was mortally wounded on a search-and-destroy operation on February 25, i966. Special Forces Master Sergeant Charles Hosking of Ramsey was mortally wounded during the capture of a Vietcong sniper on March 21, 1967. Marine Lance Corporal Jedh Colby Barker of Park Ridge threw himself on an enemy grenade on September 21, 1967, to save others on a reconnaissance operation. Chaplain Charles J. Watters of Jersey City was killed after retrieving men under enemy fire at the battle for Dak To on November i9, i967.
On January 30,1968, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, attacking urban centers in South Vietnam. On February i9, i968, Special Forces Staff Sergeant Fred Zabitosky of Trenton rescued the pilot of a helicopter that had crashed in flames. Army Captain Jack Jacobs, who entered the service at Trenton, evacuated fourteen others under heavy fire on March 9, i968. Both Zabitosky and Jacobs were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The unpopularity of the Vietnam War among draft-age young people, and increasingly among the general public, was reflected in events in New Jersey. At an April i965 teach-in (an antiwar gathering that included lectures and seminars), historian Eugene Genovese of Rutgers University asserted that he would welcome a Vietcong victory. Conservative politicians wanted Genovese removed from his position. New Jersey governor Richard Hughes defended Genovese’s academic freedom, and New Jersey voters reelected Hughes that November. As part of a nationwide student protest, Princeton students took over the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs on April 21, 1972. Soon after, a group of Quakers and Vietnam veterans tried to prevent the munitions ship USS Nitro from sailing from Leonardo. They paddled out into Sandy Hook Bay in canoes and rowboats, forming a "People’s Blockade” that was thwarted by the Coast Guard.
The last Americans were evacuated from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) as the city fell to the communists on April 30, 1975. Years later, Americans recognized the contribution of those who fought in Vietnam. The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Holmdel was dedicated on May 7, i995.
Vineland. 68.7-square-mile city in Cumberland County, with the largest area in the state. Founded on August 8,1861, by Charles K. Landis as a center for his new fifty-square-mile agricultural tract on the edge of the Pine Barrens, both the borough and the Vineland Tract (Landis Township), as planned settlements, soon drew international attention. Primarily an agricultural town, Vineland stood out from similar, small farming towns because of its planned nature. A series of migrations revitalized the town and region. Wide dissemination of advertisements drew in a population of 5,000 to 6,000 by the end of the i870s. After i873 Italians arrived in numbers, to be followed in the next decade by Jewish agricultural colonists from the Russian Empire. In the twentieth century, Puerto Rican farmworkers arrived after i940, eventually moving into the town center.
Vineland prospered moderately across the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Agriculture was complemented by local industry, especially glass manufacturing. Following World War II, Vineland was one of the great poultry centers in the country. Local innovations (Welch’s Grape Juice i875) and the ability to attract outside institutions (Vineland Training School— formerly the New Jersey Home for the Education and Care of Feebleminded Children—and State Institution for Feebleminded Women, 1880s) highlight local history. During the Great Depression, George Daynor built his idiosyncratic "Palace Depression” out of junk and car parts.
On July 1, 1952, the borough of Vineland and Landis Township combined to become the largest-area city in New Jersey. A decline set in after its centennial in 1961, with the sudden collapse and extinction of the poultry and egg industry, a continuing closing-down of glass production, and competition from shopping centers and malls. The city did continue as an agricultural center.
In 2000 its population of 56,271 was 67 percent white, 14 percent black, and 30 percent Hispanic (Hispanics may be of any race). The median household income in 2000 was $40,076.
Vineland Developmental Center.In 1888 the State Charities Aid Association prompted the state legislature to open the New Jersey State Institution for Feebleminded Women in Vineland. A major concern at the time was the belief that "feeblemindedness” and associated "pauperism” were hereditary. Residents participated in educational, industrial, craft, and agricultural activities. By i9i5 facilities included a hospital, eugenic and psychological laboratories, and a separate building for tubercular residents. Today the renamed Vineland Developmental Center is one of seven residential centers managed by the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities. Located on 257 acres, the residential facility provides vocational, health care, psychological, social, and recreational services to approximately 540 residents with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. The center also operates community group homes and supervised apartments.
Vineland Training School. The Rev. Stephen Olin Garrison, aided by a local philanthropist, founded the New Jersey Home for the Education and Care of Feebleminded Children in Vineland in 1888. The privately supported institution also received state aid for indigent children. Garrison’s goal was a self-sustaining farm colony built on the cottage plan. In 1906 the renamed Training School for Feeble Minded Girls and Boys (by 1911, it was renamed the Training School at Vineland) hired psychologist Henry Goddard, who started an influential research program on mental retardation, clinical psychological testing, and child development. The school also provided training programs for mental health professionals. By the 1920s, hereditary theories of mental illness were replaced by newer psychological theories. Author Pearl Buck was a strong supporter of the training school, where her daughter was a resident. Since 1981, the school has been managed by the Pennsylvania-based Elwyn human services organization. The Vineland Training School continues to offer training and educational programs for clients on the original Vineland campus, and currently operates forty-five residential sites serving 350 clients in Cumberland County.
Violets. Violets are members of the Vi-olaceae or violet family. More than thirty species occur in New Jersey. Common names include sweet violet, wood violet, and heart’s ease pansy. The dog’s-tooth-violet is not a violet but a member of the lily family. Most violets bloom in the spring, although some bloom as late as July. Many hybridize with other species, making identification difficult if not impossible. Habitat preferences vary from deep, rich soils in cool, moist areas to dry, sandy soils in open areas. Flower color varies from purple and blue to white and yellow. A few are edible and are occasionally consumed by humans and several are considered weeds.
Virtua Health. The West Jersey Health System joined with Memorial Health Alliance in 1998 to form Virtua Health, the largest health-care provider in southern New Jersey. Virtua Health employs about seven thousand people and has over sixteen hundred physicians on its staff. Four hospitals comprise Virtua Health: Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County (Mount Holly) and three Virtua West Jersey Hospitals (in Berlin, Marlton, and Voorhees). Its outpatient center in Camden provides comprehensive primary care and emergency services. In addition, Virtua serves the area with two long-term comprehensive care centers, two outpatient surgery centers, and a home-health-care agency.
Vivino, "Uncle” Floyd (b. Oct. 19,1951). Entertainer. Growing up in Bergen County, Floyd Vivino began his career as a child pianist and later worked as a carnival barker and burlesque comedian. In 1974 his Uncle Floyd Show first aired on UA Columbia Cable of Bergen County as a daily, afternoon children’s program, then moved to UHF station WBTB-TV of West Orange (Channel 68). The show’s hallmarks were low-budget, topical jokes about New Jersey life and a loose, knockabout style. Dressed in a loud sports jacket and porkpie hat, Uncle Floyd conversed with his hand puppet Oogie and satirized popular television shows. He also hosted rock acts such as the Ramones and David Johansen. From 1982 to 1983, The Uncle Floyd Show was in national syndication, with Vivino claiming to know more than three thousand of his nationwide viewers by name. His show moved to cable television and is currently airing on Cablevision of Northern New Jersey. Vivino also performs regularly in clubs and takes small roles in such movies as Good Morning, Vietnam. In 1999 he set the Guinness world record for continuous piano playing at twenty-four straight hours.
Vogt, Grace J. (b. Sept. 30, 1873; d. July 7, 1976). Newspaper reporter. The daughter and granddaughter of journalists, Grace J. Vogt attended Miss Dana’s School in Morristown and studied at the Art Students League in New York. She began her career in journalism as a reporter for the Morristown True Democratic Banner, where her father was editor. In 1902 she was hired by the Newark Evening News as a correspondent for society news in Morristown.
The newspaper’s all-male Morristown bureau refused to give Vogt her own desk, so she did all her writing from home, where she continued to work for the next sixty-five years.
With doggedness and a wide circle of sources, Vogt overcame discrimination against women in the news business and proved to be a productive journalist. Her primary topics were social events and "women’s news,” but her expertise grew to include local and state politics and local history. During the 1910s she devoted much of her reporting to the woman suffrage movement. Vogt was often asked to put her writing skill to work on historical preservation projects. As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she helped save the Schuyler-Hamilton House from demolition in 1923 and she wrote its official history. She was a charter member of the Woman’s Club of Morristown, designed the gardens at its clubhouse, and was instrumental in placing the building on the National Register of Historic Places. Vogt retired from the Newark News in 1967 but remained active in community affairs into her nineties. She lived at the same house in Morristown for the first 101 years of her life, and died in a nursing home at age 102.
Volk, Ernest (b. 1845; d. Sept. 17, 1919). Archaeologist. Ernest Volk, a native of Germany, immigrated to the United States and settled in Chambersburg, today part of Trenton. A lifelong bachelor, Volk was a musician, tavern keeper, and Chambersburg borough clerk before finding a second career late in life as an archaeologist. A protege of Charles Conrad Abbott, Volk spent nearly twenty years excavating sites in and around Trenton in an ultimately fruitless search for evidence of very early human occupation of the Delaware Valley. Volk’s work was directed by Frederick Ward Putnam and sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, the World’s Columbian Exposition, and the American Museum of Natural History. The results of his efforts were published in 1911 as The Archaeology of the Delaware Valley. In 1919 he was fatally injured in an automobile accident.
Volleyball. William G. Morgan, a physical education director with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), invented volleyball in 1895 as an undemanding indoor sport for sedentary workers. The YMCA organization spread the new sport throughout the world. In 1984 the U.S. men’s volleyball team won the gold at the Olympic Games, and the U.S. women won the silver, greatly increasing American interest in the sport, especially among women athletes.
At both the high school and college levels, New Jersey has more than twice as many women’s teams as men’s teams. Jersey City State College, Princeton University, Ramapo College, Rutgers University, and Stevens Institute of Technology field both men’s and women’s teams. Post collegiate leagues in the state are members of the Garden Empire Volleyball Association (GEVA), which is the regional division of USA Volleyball, the national governing body of volleyball. This organization sanctions both indoor and outdoor tournaments. The Jersey Shore Volleyball Association (JSVBA), a GEVA member, was created in 1986 to bring organized beach volleyball to the Jersey Shore; within fifteen years the JSVBA had corporate sponsorship for its professional and amateur events as well as television coverage of tournaments.
John von Neumann, Princeton, 1952.
Von Neumann, John (b. Dec. 28,1903; d. Feb. 8, 1957). Mathematician and computer pioneer. Born in Budapest, Hungary, the son of a well-to-do banker, John von Neumann showed an early proclivity for mathematics. By the age of thirteen, his talent was recognized by his teachers at the Lutheran High School of Budapest. In 1929, having earned several degrees, including an advanced degree in mathematics, von Neumann accepted an invitation to come to Princeton University as a visiting professor. He taught there until 1933, when he accepted an appointment at the newly founded Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
During World War II, he played a major role among the Los Alamos group of scientists who developed the atomic bomb. With Princeton economist Oskar Morgenstern he invented game theory, a set of mathematical principles that would establish the ground rules for economic and military strategy for most of the century. He is best known for his development of the speediest, most accurate, and most useful early computer, which made the essential calculations that enabled the United States to build and test its first full model of the hydrogen bomb. Later, he developed another computer for the U.S. Navy that allowed the agency to do twenty-four-hour weather predictions in a matter of minutes.
