The Golden Who's Who of the Lebanese Emigrants in the World
Readers Feedback

Note from the publisher:

While this book intends to illustrate successful Lebanese in the diaspora, by the nature of its work, from time to time, it may draw some contradictions on some included personalities. While we hope this will be minimal, we do hope the rest of the book serves its intended purpose.

Eligibility for inclusion in this book was based on contribution to and success in the community. Of course, since the time the book was originally assembled (early 70's) , measurments and standards may have changed, but the foundation should still be the same. This eligibility was very subjective. It is as the author saw it, and has no official status. It is also, by no mean, exclusive or exhaustive. There may be many many more Lebanese emigrants deserving listing in the book, but were not (through no fault of theirs of the author's). This is pretty much the norm in all Who's Who publications.

Readers Feedback

From: C Hadad
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999

How is it that you do not list Academy Award winning songwriter, Paul Jabara in your list of notable people. Not only did he write Last Dance for which he won the Academy award, but also Its Raining Men, Enough is Enough, Main Event, just to mention a few of his song. His music was recorded by Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Whitnery Houston julio Iglaisis. If you need background info on him, i will be happy to furnish same

From: Nadim Eid
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999

I would be very greatful if you could forgive me for being very inquisitive.. I would also wish to know (to me as far as Ghana is concerned) Where & how do you obtain data which enriches the content of your book? Is it somebody here you appointed to do your work or people just apply? Can I be of any help to you (as far as Ghana is concerned)? The Ghana section in your book is a disaster!! It needs proper revision.. many people ought fall out & many left outs ought to be brought in. I am there to help if you know of any obstacle you are facing to that regard. I am only but a concerned person & I like the idea of the golden book. I`m a Lebanese who lived in Ghana since 1985, I obtained the Ghanaian nationality not a long time ago. The Lebanese community in ghana (about 3000 individuals) is something I know like the back of my hand.. I know personally the majority who live in the capital Accra. It was a mistake when I was introduced to your book while searching with YAHOO for a subject on emmigration; I was very excited by the motive I presumed it was created for. I thought it was made to show gratitude for a very few people who made their mark in life, those who help others, those who enhance easier lives for the rest of the Lebanese community, people Lebanon should be proud of. Naturally I was interested in names whom I knew.. So I delved into searching the book for the EID family and people living in Accra. I started with Accra only to be shocked & baffled when I saw the names of every Tom, Dick & Harry who to my knowledge have nothing to do with any glittering reputation!! How ever when I had your highly esteemed reply I was satisfied with the books` present status.. nevertheless I think it`s not late for the author to re-adjust the contents of this glorious project to officially accepted standards. Once again I will appologise for being inquisitive.

Joseph George
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999

My name is Joseph George, I am a third generation Lebanese-American, my grandparents came to America (Buffalo, NY) around 1920. I am a chef by trade, and would love to add my personal web site to your list. I just discovered your site, I love it and will be back often. http://www.localnet.com/~jgeorge

From: Basma Jamil
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999

I was really impressed by the hard work uou have put towards the surnames and family trees . but unfortunately i could not find my family name i your list. therefore kindly asking you to add it which is HIJAZI ,I believe it is one of the biggest families in lebanon especially in beirut,north and south of lebanon.

From: Alex Bookalam
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999

My grand-daughter stumbled across your "Glodlen Who's Whos-Lebanese site". I was just wondering how you came across all of this information? I was amazed to see my lovely picture! Where did you find it???

From: ANTOINE ABOU-JAOUDE
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1998

Hi, my name is Steven (A)Bou-Jaoude. why don't you put the Lebanese emigrants, who live in Europe. Are we not important enough? And my unlce lives in Boston and he is not on the list.

From: Akram Raffoul - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999

I came by chance over your site while searching for distant relatives on the Net. I just wish to congratulate you on your efforts and hope that many Lebanese like myself will appreciate it.

Sandra - Canada
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Wonderful site. This is the closest I have got on the web to maybe finding some info on my surname Smaha. I sure hope someone answers my posting.

Nabil Zaki
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999

Edward Seaga was the Prime Minister of Jamaica and is of lebanese descent. Also, Alfredo Nasr is the Minister of Justice in Brazil. The former president of Colombia, Jose Ayala Turbay, was the son of a lebanese immigrant. Emilio Estefan is the husband of pop superstar Latina Gloria Estefan and has a huge music career.

From: Tony Reaidi
Date: Thu, 6 May 1999 05:19:45 EDT

I am a Lebanese American.I think the who's who idea is very clever, and that's why I would appreciate it if you include my name. If you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to e-mail back.

From: John Sear, M. D.
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999

Did not find the listing of Dr. Elias J. Corey, Harvard University on your great web site:" The Golden Who's Who of Lebanese Emigrants in the World". As you may know , he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

From: Adel Abdallah
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999

Highly appreciate and very interesting your web,about the lebanese around the globe. But we are looking for update,and more details about africa,( Nigeria).

From: Charlie Saba
Date: Fri, 02 Apr 1999

Please add my name and history Charles Saba bmooney@sisna.com 6920 S 160 E Midvale Ut 84047 801-569-9577. Son of David ( Phillippe)Saba born in Wilimantic Ct 1900. Son of Mohanna and Effiffee Saba ( my grandparents) who immigrated from Hasbaiya/Marjeyoun area of Greater Syria now Lebabnon,circa 1898 to Wilimantic and moved to Indiana, Pa ( date unknown). Brorhers Espil and Fadlou and sister Mary came before ( date unknown)

From: Jean-Pierre el-Rif
Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999

Hi, I chanced upon your web site and was impressed as well as dismayed that the only el-Rif listed was my uncle Michel who hasn't lived in the US since the seventies! How ever did you come up with his information?

From: Joanne D. Fay
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 20:33:06 -0700

LINCOLN ABRAHAM was the first son of immigrants Frank & Rose Tannous Abraham. He loved life and his family. Given a name that brought him some celebrity notice even after his death. Lincoln was born November 26. 1915 in Minneapolis MN, graduated from Edison High School, entered the army, and died December 17 1944 in Ligneuville, Belgium. The location of his death is documented but the reason is unclear. Death during a war is almost always unclear and never acceptable. As we found out many years later, Lincoln had been captured by the German SS and murdered on the first day of the Battle of the Bulge as the American's retreated before the German advancement. The delaying action he was involved with bought the Allies time to form a new line of defense and within a month they were able to recapture the town. Lincoln entered into active duty on March 3, 1941. At the time of his death, he was S/sgt with the 14th Tank Battalion, Co."B". Following his death, the military identified his body through his "dog" tags and a 9th Armored Division patch on his uniform. On January 24 1945, the military obtained a signed/sworn statement from a Ligneuville resident stating, "On the afternoon of 17 Dec 1944, I saw a German soldier take his pistol and shoot each of the eight American soldiers in the head". (This document is on file at the National Archives, Declassification order 123.56, sec.3.3.735027, exhibit "D"). There are other document on file at the National Archives as well. The following recognition's were bestowed on Lincoln Abraham: Medals = bronze star, purple heart, good conduct, American defense service, American & European campaigns, WWII victory, honorable service; Presidential certificates from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. Some of the books he was recorded in by name: "A Soldier from Texas", "Phantom Nine", "Massacre at Malmedy", "A Time for Trumpets", "Battle of the Bulge, Then and Now". The town and people of Ligneuville Belgium erected a large monument to honor the eight soldiers who helped defend their town during the German invasion. Each year on Memorial Day, the pay their respects and place a wreath at the monument. The plaque on this monument contains the name of Abraham Lincoln, they turned it around a bit. After the war was over, Lincoln Abraham's remains were returned to Minneapolis and he was properly buried by his family. Mr. Dib, hope you will add this to your Who's Who recognition. Lincoln's parents were FRANK ABRAHAM and ROSE TANNOUS both from Edjabra Lebanon. Frank immigrated in 1891 and settled in Detroit Michigan before moving to Minneapolis MN in 1911. Rose came to Minneapolis to join her parents and marry Frank in 1913. Frank and Rose helped establish the Maronite Catholic Church in NE Minneapolis and lived in the Lebanese community the rest of their lives.

From: Hicham
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999

Hey Ray. I enjoyed finding out about all those famous lebanese, I dont think anybody else has a great similar page. I am lebanese and proud of it. if you need anything just ask and I will be happy to do the best I can. I believe that this guy should be added to your gold list. "Since taking the wheel as president of Ford's auto operations in late '96, JACQUES A. NASSER, 50, has sliced bloated costs by about $3 billion, killed slow sellers, and shaken up the executive suite. With record profits of $6.5 billion expected for '97--Detroit's best--Lebanon-born Nasser is on the road to becoming Ford's next CEO." He got the humble CEO job at Ford last year. One more thing before I forget you pushed it too far by putting the pictures of all AL MOUAWAD and naming them by cheikh and cheikha. It is your page after all, and I respect the MOUAWADs.

From: Xavier F. Gorra
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999

I stumbled by pure accident onto your website and was pleasantly surprised to see someone went through a monumental effort to get Lebanese expats listed chronologically. I feel you have great merit in undertaking such a complex task. Myself I left Lebanon December '75, the first year of the civil war and have been in Switzerland since October '76. My parents are François and Madeleine Gorra. They retired to Monaco where my brother Serge has been living all his adult life, as well as the brother of my father, Oscar Gorra, and one of his two sons, Cyril Gorra. The family is registered as being from Zahleh though neither my father or myself know Zahleh beyond an occasional transit on our way to Baalbeck. My mother's maiden name is Geahel. Please feel free to meet my family on http://members.xoom.com/Gorra I'm circulating your weblink by blind copy within my circle of cyber friends, many with Lebanese roots, as some may find it of interest to let you know they exist or even to pass on your link to others they know. Good luck in your endeavor.

From: George Zaloom - ZALOOM FILM
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999

hey great page! I'm George Zaloom, I was always told I was Lebanese - now they tell me my grand parents were from Aleppo - can you help me find out more?

From: Joseph Charles John (Yousef Chelala)
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999

I just came across your site of Lebanese from around the world. I am a second generation Lebanese-American living in S. New Jersey, US, outside of Philadelphia, PA, but I was born and reared in Wilkes-Barre, PA. My Grandfather immigrated to the US in 1913 from the village of beit Chelala, Lb which is near Batroun. In fact all my grandparents are from the same nearby areas - Hardine, Zane, Farhutnah. Both of my grandfathers, and many others at the time, had their last names changed when they came to the US at Ellis Island in the early 1900's. My Giddo was "Yousef ibn Hana" so he became Joseph John. My maternal grandfather's real family name was Louwandas, but he became Simon Charles. There are many Lebanese living in Wilkes-Barre, PA. We have three churches, two Maronite - St. Anthony and St. George, and one Syrian Orthodox - St. Mary. I did not notice a listing for Wilkes-Barre, PA in your city listing. How can we get it listed?

From: Abdallah Toutoungi - Los Angeles, CA
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998

I would like to congratulate on your hard work, in organizing and researching all that information. I was looking for "Toutoungi" in "Accra" and I found "Sami". Sami is my dad's uncle, my father Mouayad is also in Ghana, Nassouh my grandfather is also in Ghana. Great job.

From: WA'EL CHEHAB
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998

I am a Lebanese immigrant from the Chehab family, living and working in New York city, NY. I would like my name and information to be added to the list of whos who of Lebanese around the world following are my particulars. Emir Wael N. Chehab -President, Cedar Capital - address: 885 Third Avenue, Suite 2900 , New York, Ny 10022- e.mail wchehab@sprynet.com- Telephone: 212-829-5584 -Father's name: Emir Nouhad - Mother's name: Ferial . I would very much appreciate your help.

From: Gabriel Fackre Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1998

I was pleased to see my father's name in your listing. However, there is no information associated with it.

From: PETER S.DAVIS
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998

I very much enjoyed reading your web page. It is an inspiration for Lebanese living around the world. My family is fourth generation Lebanese living in Phoenix, Arizona. We are still 100% Lebanese/Syrian, which is rare for a fourth generation immigrant family. I am a 29 year old CPA and have a strong desire to learn more about my genealogy and ethnic history. Your web page has been a real inspiration for me. I will let others in the Lebanese community here know about your web page. There are several very successful and prominent Lebanese in Phoenix. They include the owner of the largest private company in the state, Eddie Basha, the County Attorney, Rick Romley, a large car dealership owner, Tony Coury, and also a former judge, the largest build-to-suit government building developer in the state (my father), the largest grocery home delivery service in the state and many more. I would be happy to contact these individuals for their stories in order to add them to your database. Would this be of interest to you? Would you consider publishing a book containing this information? Although I have been to Lebanon only once for a two-week trip and know very little Arabic, I can say that I truly love the country. My family and our Lebanese heritage are truly a gift from God. -Peter S. Davis, II 2828 East Meadowbrook Avenue - Phoenix, Arizona 85016-4939

From: Basil Shadid
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998

I am visiting your Golden Who's Who page on the web, and would like to add my name. I am , and my family came from Jdeidet Lebanon. Write me and tell me what infromation I need to submit.

From: Nadim Shehadi
DATE: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 15:22:42

I was fascinated to come across the WhoIsWho website. I have not yet looked at all of it in detail. I work at the Centre for Lebanese Studies in Oxford and we have been interested in Lebanese Emigration for a about ten years. We have published two books and are about to publish a bibliography on the Emigration to Latin America. Our publications etc are on our website. Keep up the good work and I will be in touch again.
Nadim Shehadi
Centre for Lebanese Studies
59 Observatory Street
Oxford OX2 6EP
Tel: +44 (0)1865 558465
Fax: +44 (0)1865 514317
Email: shehadi@sable.ox.ac.uk
Website: http://nonuniv.ox.ac.uk/cls

From: Timothée de St Albin- Lombard Conseil - Jeune Afrique - Paris 15° Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998

Je prépare actuellement un reportage sur les émigrés libanais pour le compte de Jeune Afrique, un magazine français qui traite des questions africaines et moyen-orientales. Je m'intéresse plus particulièrement à l'émigration des Libanais à destination de l'Afrique noire ainsi qu'au Libanais ayant vécu dans cette région du monde et étant revenu au Liban. Pour cette raison, je compte partir le 18 octobre au Liban et cela pour une quinzaine de jour. Si vous êtes disponible durant cette période, je souhaiterais vous rencontrer lors de mon séjour et m'entretenir à ce sujet avec vous. Vous pouvez me laisser un message au 03/39/45/29, j'essayerai pour ma part de vous joindre à partir du 19 octobre. Dans l'espoir de vous voir prochainement, veuillez recevoir, monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments respectueux.

From: Mouin Khanafer
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998

My name is mouin khanafer and i live in Belgium. I was very surprised to find my father's name in your web page "The golden who's who..." I would like to congratulate you for this tremendous and very useful work, may I ask you where did you find these infos? because the company name and address your refer to are old and have been cancelled (1970's), and we have left Kinshasa for many years now. my father's name is Mahmoud Khanafer (Mohamed Jawad was my uncle,deceased in 1980), and my sister's name is Rakia and not Rabbia, all the other names are correct.

From: Tom Jordan (Chedid)
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998

Hello the Who's who is very interesting. My Grandfather came to the US in 1900. He opened a Lumber co. in Mississippi called Bay Lumber Co.(My Grandfather reached millionaire status within five years of being in this country). He changed his last name from Chedid to Jordan. He served in the US Army during World War I, and was wounded in action (bullet to the leg), he was awarded the Purple Heart. He went back to Lebanon in 1928 where He married my Grandmother Sophia from a village close to his home village. He traveled back and forth from Lebanon to the US due to the fact that my grandmother would not come to the US. My Father was born in 1929. in 1935 my grandfather still between the US and Lebanon got tired of traveling back and forth sold his share of the business to his Brother who he was partners with. and moved back to Lebanon that year. He went opened a Bank in Beirut which was fine for awhile but unfortunatly went bankrupt due to the war in Lebanon. My Grandfather was unable to collect the Loans he had lent. My Father had came to this country in 1947at the age of 17.He Served in the US Army during the Korean War. Went into business in 1950, another Lebanese success story. I still have realatives in Lebanon. My family in Lebanon is very prominent in Politics and the Military. I still have an uncle in Lebanon who is a General Rank in the Lebanese Army. I went to Lebanon a few years ago It is a nice country if you have money or you are a high ranking individual from a prominent family. But the average person in Lebanon gets no respect, that where the US and Lebanon are different. In the US everyone for the most part is treated equally. Address: Livonia, MI, USA My Grandfathers Name: Abo Asad Chedid Originally From: Chemstar Emigrated: 1900 to Oceanspring, MS Children : Asad, Naife, Shafik, Fayad Wife: Sophia Carradine from Majdaloun

From: J Zayat
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998

I would like to bring to your attention the name of Kamal AL SAABAH please contact the Embassy in D.C about him he had many invention in his name when he worked for G.E.

From: Diane Butler
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998

Even though I could not connect to many pages on your sites, I am excited that you are doing Lebanon. Please tell me how to read the Who's Who. My family came from Lebanon and I would very much like to contact those still there. Please help me with directions. Thank you

People Index
Family Names Index
City Index
Table of Contents

Copyright © 1998-2007. Raymond Maurice K. H. Dib - New York. No reproduction is allowed without the expressed approval of the publisher.

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