The 5 People You “Meet” in New Haven

Joseph Cinqué (Sengbe Pieh)

The most well-known of the captives of the Amistad Schooner, Cinqué played an integral role in the trial that took place in New Haven.  In 1840, the Supreme Court ruled Cinque and the rest of his shipmates had been kidnapped and sold illegally.  Awarded their freedom, this case marked a major advancement in the civil rights movement.  A sculpture dedicated to Joseph Cinqué is located in front of New Haven City Hall.

Louis Lassen

Necessity is the mother of invention and in 1900 Louis Lassen solved a harried customer’s dilemma by providing a to-go sandwich of ground beef between two slices of toast and thus the hamburger sandwich was born Louis' descendants are still cooking burgers on the original grill at Louis’ Lunch on Crown St.

Miya Lin

Lin earned both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from Yale University.  Best known as the designer of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in our nation’s capital, Lin also designed the Women’s Table located at Yale outside the Sterling Memorial Library.

Cesar Pelli

A protégé of Eero Saarinan (architect of Ingalls Rink, a.k.a. The Yale Whale), Pelli served as the Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and New Haven is the current home of his architectural firm.  His famed works include the World Financial Center in New York City, Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, N.C., and Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  Several of Pelli’s designs can be seen on the Yale campus including the Golden Center, the Lanman Center and the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine.

Eli Whitney

Whitney, world-renowned inventor of the cotton gin, graduated from Yale University in 1792.  The Eli Whitney Museum, located on the former site of Whitney’s musket factory , is a fascinating study of the man where children learn the science of mechanics.  Whitney died in New Haven in 1825 and is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.