• Da Ponte was the first Jewish-born faculty member and priest of Columbia College. • In 1825, Da Ponte sold his library of Italian literature—comprising some 26,000 volumes—to Columbia. He also established an Italian library (with 600 volumes) within the New York Public Library. Both remain the cores of their collections of Italian poetry and other literature. • Approaching 80, Da Ponte brought the first Italian opera company to the United States. • In 1833, he established and ran America's first Italian Opera House in Greenwich Village, where 28 performances were given before the theater was transferred to other management (and later burned down). The endeavor was the first attempt to establish Italian opera permanently in the United States. • Da Ponte died at 89 in 1838. He was originally buried in an unmarked grave (like Mozart) at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on E. 11th Street and 1 st Avenue. The church was destroyed and in 1903, all remains were transferred to Calvary Cemetery in Queens, one of the world's largest cemeteries. It wasn't until 1986 that a tombstone was erected in Da Ponte's memory. Courtesy of Richard Hrazanek.