Celebrezze, << SEL uh `bree` zee, >> Anthony Joseph (1910-1998), was secretary of health, education, and welfare from 1962 to 1965. He was the first Italian American to serve in the Cabinet. Celebrezze became a federal judge in 1965.
Celebrezze was born on Sept. 4, 1910, in Anzi, Italy, of naturalized United States citizens. He served as an Ohio state senator from 1950 to 1953, and as mayor of Cleveland from 1953 to 1962. He practiced law after graduation from the Ohio Northern University Law School in 1936. During World War II (1939-1945), he served with the U.S. Navy. Celebrezze died on Oct. 29, 1998.
