Jump to content

Estonian Americans: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
2,555,703 edits
Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5
Undid revision 1264085825 by Italian Wikipedian 2024 (talk) revert sock
 
(44 intermediate revisions by 35 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Americans of Estonian birth or descent}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
{{Infobox ethnic group
|group = Estonian Americans <br><small>''Ameerika eestlased''</small>
|group = Estonian Americans
|native_name = {{native name|et|Ameerika eestlased}}
|image =
|flag = {{Flagicon|Estonia}} {{Flagicon|USA}}
|image = Estonian USC2000 PHS.svg
|caption =
|caption =
|pop = '''28,122''' (2015)<ref name=Americandescent2013>{{cite web|title=2011-2015 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_SPT_B01003&prodType=table|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060820/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_SPT_B01003&prodType=table|archive-date=14 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|pop = '''29,128''' (2021)<ref name="ACS2021">{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B04006|title=Table B04006 - People Reporting Ancestry - 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=17 September 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220917224633/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?tid=ACSDT1Y2021.B04006|archive-date=17 September 2022}}</ref><br /><small>
'''0.01% of the US population'''</small><br />
|popplace = [[California]]{{·}}[[New York (state)|New York]]{{·}}[[New Jersey]]{{·}}[[Washington (state)|Washington]]{{·}}[[Florida]]
|popplace = [[California]]{{·}}[[New York (state)|New York]]{{·}}[[New Jersey]]{{·}}[[Washington (state)|Washington]]{{·}}[[Florida]]{{·}}[[Oregon]]
|langs = [[American English]], [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
|langs = [[American English]], [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
|rels = [[Protestantism|Protestant]] ([[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]), [[Deism]]
|rels = [[Protestantism|Protestant]] ([[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]), [[Deism]]
|related =[[Estonian Canadians]], [[Finnish Americans]]
|related =[[Estonian Canadians]], [[Finnish Americans]], [[Latvian Americans]], [[Lithuanian Americans]]
}}
}}

'''Estonian Americans''' ({{lang-et|Ameerika eestlased}}) are [[Americans]] who are of [[Estonians|Estonian]] ancestry, mainly descendants of people who left Estonia before and especially during [[World War II]]. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, there were over 27,000 Americans of full or partial Estonian descent,<ref name=Americandescent2013 /> up from 26,762 in [[United States Census, 1990|1990]].
'''Estonian Americans''' ({{langx|et|Ameerika eestlased}}) are [[Americans]] who are of [[Estonians|Estonian]] ancestry, mainly descendants of people who left [[Estonia]] before and especially during [[World War II]]. According to the 2021 [[American Community Survey]], around 29,000 Americans reported full or partial Estonian ancestry,<ref name=ACS2021 /> up from 26,762 in [[United States Census, 1990|1990]].


==History==
==History==


{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left:1em;"
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|-
|-
! colspan="2"|Estonian-American population<br />as of the 2000 U.S. census<ref name=EstonianCensus>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214052417/http://www.euroamericans.net/estonian+census.htm People of Estonian Ancestry, U.S. 2000 Census]</ref>
! colspan="2"|Estonian-American population<br />as of the 2000 U.S. census<ref name=EstonianCensus>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214052417/http://www.euroamericans.net/estonian+census.htm People of Estonian Ancestry, U.S. 2000 Census]</ref>
Line 28: Line 34:
|}
|}


Estonians first started coming to the United States as early as in 1627 in the colony of [[New Sweden]] along the [[Delaware River]]. Significant numbers of emigration started in the late 19th century and continued until the mid-20th century. However, it is difficult to estimate the number of Estonian-Americans before 1920, since such immigrants were often characterized as [[Russians]] in the national censuses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of race, ethnicity, and society|last=Schaefer, Richard T.|date=2008|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781412926942|location=|pages=448–450|oclc=166387368}}</ref>
The first recorded arrival of immigrants from Estonia (then part of Sweden) to what is now the United States occurred already in 1627 in the colony of [[New Sweden]] along the [[Delaware River]]. Emigration from Estonia started on a larger scale in the late 19th century, when Estonia was part of the former [[Russian Empire]], and continued until the mid-20th century. However, it is difficult to estimate the number of Estonian-Americans before 1920, since they were often referred to as "Russians" in the national censuses.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of race, ethnicity, and society|last=Schaefer, Richard T.|date=2008|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781412926942|pages=448–450|oclc=166387368}}</ref>


The beginnings of [[industrialization]] and commercial agriculture in the [[Russian Empire]] transformed Estonian farmers into migrants. The pressures of industrialization drove numerous Estonian peasants to emigrate to the United States continuing until the outbreak of [[World War I]]I. In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Red Army, 80,000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Germany and Sweden, becoming [[war refugee]]s and later, [[expatriate]]s.
The beginnings of [[industrialization]] and commercial agriculture in the Russian Empire transformed many Estonian farmers into migrants. The pressures of industrialization drove numerous Estonian farmers to emigrate to the United States until Estonia became an independent country in 1918, at the end of World War I.
During World War II, Estonia was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940–1941, and by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944. In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Soviet Red Army, 80,000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Germany and Sweden, becoming [[war refugee]]s and later, [[expatriate]]s.


Some thousand of them moved on from there and settled in the United States. After the war's end, these [[displaced persons]] were allowed to immigrate to the United States and to apply for [[citizenship]]. In 1948, the [[Displaced Persons Act]] from [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] stipulated that 40% of the available visas go to “[[Baltic region|Baltic]]” people (Estonians, [[Latvians]], and [[Lithuanians]]). This act and its 1950 revision allowed 11,000 Estonians into the United States between 1948 and 1952.<ref name=":0" /> Some of these refugees and their descendants started returning to Estonia at the end of the 1980s.
Some thousand of them moved on from there and settled in the United States. After the war's end, these [[displaced persons]] were allowed to immigrate to the United States and to apply for [[citizenship]]. In 1948, the [[Displaced Persons Act]] from [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] stipulated that 40% of the available visas go to “[[Baltic region|Baltic]]” people (Estonians, [[Latvians]], and [[Lithuanians]]). This act and its 1950 revision allowed 11,000 Estonians into the United States between 1948 and 1952.<ref name=":0" /> Some of these refugees and their descendants started returning to Estonia at the end of the 1980s.
Line 36: Line 44:
==Notable people==
==Notable people==
{{main list|List of Estonian Americans}}
{{main list|List of Estonian Americans}}

⚫
Conductor [[Neeme Järvi]] was the music director of the [[Detroit Symphony Orchestra]], the [[New Jersey Symphony Orchestra]], as well as the international [[Gothenburg Symphony]], and [[Het Residentie Orkest]] of [[The Hague]]. His three children, conductors [[Paavo Järvi]] and [[Kristjan Järvi]], and flautist [[Maarika Järvi]], are prominent American musicians in their own right. Paavo Järvi is the chief conductor of the [[Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra]]
President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] descended from 17th-century [[Tallinn]]er colonists in [[New Amsterdam]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/vienna/8921/colonial.html|title = Estonians in North America, 1627-1896}}</ref>

⚫
Conductor [[Neeme Järvi]] was the music director of the [[Detroit Symphony Orchestra]], the [[New Jersey Symphony Orchestra]], as well as the international [[Gothenburg Symphony]], and [[Het Residentie Orkest]] of [[The Hague]]. His three children, conductors [[Paavo Järvi]] and [[Kristjan Järvi]], and flutist Maarika Järvi, are prominent American musicians in their own right. Paavo Järvi is the chief conductor of the [[Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra]].


Chemist [[Lauri Vaska]] emigrated to United States in 1949. He is distinguished for his research in [[organometallic chemistry]], winning the prestigious ''Boris Pregel Award''. [[Hillar Rootare]], a materials scientist, is best known for his work in the development of mercury [[porosimetry]], high pressure liquid [[chromatography]], and the formulation of the [[Rootare-Prenzlow Equation]].
Chemist [[Lauri Vaska]] emigrated to United States in 1949. He is distinguished for his research in [[organometallic chemistry]], winning the prestigious ''Boris Pregel Award''. [[Hillar Rootare]], a materials scientist, is best known for his work in the development of mercury [[porosimetry]], high pressure liquid [[chromatography]], and the formulation of the [[Rootare-Prenzlow Equation]].
Line 42: Line 53:
In journalism, [[Edmund S. Valtman]], a successful editorial cartoonist, won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning]].
In journalism, [[Edmund S. Valtman]], a successful editorial cartoonist, won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning]].


[[Ene Riisna]] is an Estonian-born American award-winning television producer, known for her work on the American news program [[20/20_(U.S._TV_series)|20/20]].
[[Ene Riisna]] is an Estonian-born American award-winning television producer, known for her work on the American news program [[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]].


[[Alar Toomre]] is an astronomer recognized for his research on the dynamics of galaxies. The ''Toomre sequence'' and ''[[Toomre's stability criterion|Toomre Instability]]'' are named in his honor.
[[Alar Toomre]] is an astronomer recognized for his research on the dynamics of galaxies. The ''Toomre sequence'' and ''[[Toomre's stability criterion|Toomre Instability]]'' are named in his honor.


In entertainment, singer and actress [[Miliza Korjus]] was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for her performance in the 1938 film ''[[The Great Waltz]]''.
In entertainment, singer and actress [[Miliza Korjus]] was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for her performance in the 1938 film ''[[The Great Waltz (1938 film)|The Great Waltz]]''.


Hollywood actor [[Johann Urb]] (born January 24, 1977) is an Estonian living and working in the United States.
Hollywood actor [[Johann Urb]] (born January 24, 1977) is an Estonian living and working in the United States.
Line 52: Line 63:
[[Kerli Kõiv]] (born February 7, 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian pop singer residing in the United States since 2005.
[[Kerli Kõiv]] (born February 7, 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian pop singer residing in the United States since 2005.


Psychologist, psychobiologist and neuroscientist [[Jaak Panksepp]] (born June 5, 1943) coined the term 'affective neuroscience', the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion.
Psychologist, psychobiologist and neuroscientist [[Jaak Panksepp]] (June 5, 1943 — April 18, 2017) coined the term 'affective neuroscience', the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion.


[[Mena Alexandra Suvari|Mena Suvari]] (born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model.
[[Mena Alexandra Suvari|Mena Suvari]] (born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model.


[[Toomas Hendrik Ilves]], born December 26, 1953 in Sweden but raised in New Jersey, was the President of Estonia.
[[Toomas Hendrik Ilves]], born December 26, 1953, in Sweden but raised in New Jersey, was the President of Estonia.


==See also==
==See also==
Line 63: Line 74:
* [[Hyphenated American]]
* [[Hyphenated American]]
* [[New York Estonian House]]
* [[New York Estonian House]]
* [[Estonia–United States relations]]

* [[Estonian Canadians]]
==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
Line 71: Line 83:
* Granquist, Mark A. "Estonian Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 97-106. [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273300070/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=9d7efee7 Online]
* Granquist, Mark A. "Estonian Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 97-106. [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273300070/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=9d7efee7 Online]
* Kulu, H. and Tammaru, T. "Ethnic return migration from the East and the West: the case of Estonia in the 1990s", ''Europe-Asia Studies'' (2000) 52#2: 349�69.
* Kulu, H. and Tammaru, T. "Ethnic return migration from the East and the West: the case of Estonia in the 1990s", ''Europe-Asia Studies'' (2000) 52#2: 349�69.
*{{Cite book|title=The Estonians in America, 1627-1975: a chronology & fact book|last=Pennar|first=Jaan|last2=Parming|first2=Tönu|last3=Rebane|first3=P. Peter|publisher=Oceana Publications|year=1975|isbn=9780379005196|location=|pages=|oclc = 1288426}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Estonians in America, 1627-1975: a chronology & fact book|last=Pennar|first=Jaan|last2=Parming|first2=Tönu|last3=Rebane|first3=P. Peter|publisher=Oceana Publications|year=1975|isbn=9780379005196|oclc = 1288426}}
* Tannberg, Kersti, and Tönu Parming. ''Aspects of Cultural Life: Sources for the Study of Estonians in America'' (New York: Estonian Learned Society in America, 1979).
* Tannberg, Kersti, and Tönu Parming. ''Aspects of Cultural Life: Sources for the Study of Estonians in America'' (New York: Estonian Learned Society in America, 1979).
* "Estonians" in Stephan Thernstrom, Ann Orlov and Oscar Handlin, eds. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) [https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther Online]
* "Estonians" in Stephan Thernstrom, Ann Orlov and Oscar Handlin, eds. ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) [https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther Online]
Line 82: Line 94:
{{EstonianDiaspora}}
{{EstonianDiaspora}}
{{European Americans}}
{{European Americans}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:American people of Estonian descent| ]]
[[Category:American people of Estonian descent| ]]
[[Category:Estonian American| ]]
[[Category:Estonian diaspora in the United States| ]]
[[Category:European-American society]]
[[Category:European diaspora in the United States]]
[[Category:Estonian diaspora|United States]]
[[Category:Estonian diaspora|United States]]

Latest revision as of 18:30, 24 December 2024

Estonian Americans
Ameerika eestlased (Estonian)
Estonia United States
Total population
29,128 (2021)[1]
0.01% of the US population
Regions with significant populations
California · New York · New Jersey · Washington · Florida · Oregon
Languages
American English, Estonian
Religion
Protestant (Lutheran), Deism
Related ethnic groups
Estonian Canadians, Finnish Americans, Latvian Americans, Lithuanian Americans

Estonian Americans (Estonian: Ameerika eestlased) are Americans who are of Estonian ancestry, mainly descendants of people who left Estonia before and especially during World War II. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, around 29,000 Americans reported full or partial Estonian ancestry,[1] up from 26,762 in 1990.

History

[edit]
Estonian-American population
as of the 2000 U.S. census[2]
California 3,465
New York 2,892
New Jersey 2,331
Washington 1,401
Florida 1,393

The first recorded arrival of immigrants from Estonia (then part of Sweden) to what is now the United States occurred already in 1627 in the colony of New Sweden along the Delaware River. Emigration from Estonia started on a larger scale in the late 19th century, when Estonia was part of the former Russian Empire, and continued until the mid-20th century. However, it is difficult to estimate the number of Estonian-Americans before 1920, since they were often referred to as "Russians" in the national censuses.[3]

The beginnings of industrialization and commercial agriculture in the Russian Empire transformed many Estonian farmers into migrants. The pressures of industrialization drove numerous Estonian farmers to emigrate to the United States until Estonia became an independent country in 1918, at the end of World War I.

During World War II, Estonia was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940–1941, and by Nazi Germany in 1941–1944. In 1944, in the face of the country being re-occupied by the Soviet Red Army, 80,000 people fled from Estonia by sea to Germany and Sweden, becoming war refugees and later, expatriates.

Some thousand of them moved on from there and settled in the United States. After the war's end, these displaced persons were allowed to immigrate to the United States and to apply for citizenship. In 1948, the Displaced Persons Act from U.S. Congress stipulated that 40% of the available visas go to “Baltic” people (Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians). This act and its 1950 revision allowed 11,000 Estonians into the United States between 1948 and 1952.[3] Some of these refugees and their descendants started returning to Estonia at the end of the 1980s.

Notable people

[edit]
For a more comprehensive list, see List of Estonian Americans.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt descended from 17th-century Tallinner colonists in New Amsterdam.[4]

Conductor Neeme Järvi was the music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, as well as the international Gothenburg Symphony, and Het Residentie Orkest of The Hague. His three children, conductors Paavo Järvi and Kristjan Järvi, and flutist Maarika Järvi, are prominent American musicians in their own right. Paavo Järvi is the chief conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Chemist Lauri Vaska emigrated to United States in 1949. He is distinguished for his research in organometallic chemistry, winning the prestigious Boris Pregel Award. Hillar Rootare, a materials scientist, is best known for his work in the development of mercury porosimetry, high pressure liquid chromatography, and the formulation of the Rootare-Prenzlow Equation.

In journalism, Edmund S. Valtman, a successful editorial cartoonist, won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.

Ene Riisna is an Estonian-born American award-winning television producer, known for her work on the American news program 20/20.

Alar Toomre is an astronomer recognized for his research on the dynamics of galaxies. The Toomre sequence and Toomre Instability are named in his honor.

In entertainment, singer and actress Miliza Korjus was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the 1938 film The Great Waltz.

Hollywood actor Johann Urb (born January 24, 1977) is an Estonian living and working in the United States.

Kerli Kõiv (born February 7, 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian pop singer residing in the United States since 2005.

Psychologist, psychobiologist and neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp (June 5, 1943 — April 18, 2017) coined the term 'affective neuroscience', the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion.

Mena Suvari (born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, born December 26, 1953, in Sweden but raised in New Jersey, was the President of Estonia.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Table B04006 - People Reporting Ancestry - 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 17 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  2. ^ People of Estonian Ancestry, U.S. 2000 Census
  3. ^ a b Schaefer, Richard T. (2008). Encyclopedia of race, ethnicity, and society. SAGE Publications. pp. 448–450. ISBN 9781412926942. OCLC 166387368.
  4. ^ "Estonians in North America, 1627-1896".

Further reading

[edit]
  • Aun, K. The Political Refugees: A History of Estonians in Canada (McClelland and Stewart, 1985)
  • Granquist, Mark A. "Estonian Americans." in Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 97-106. Online
  • Kulu, H. and Tammaru, T. "Ethnic return migration from the East and the West: the case of Estonia in the 1990s", Europe-Asia Studies (2000) 52#2: 349�69.
  • Pennar, Jaan; Parming, Tönu; Rebane, P. Peter (1975). The Estonians in America, 1627-1975: a chronology & fact book. Oceana Publications. ISBN 9780379005196. OCLC 1288426.
  • Tannberg, Kersti, and Tönu Parming. Aspects of Cultural Life: Sources for the Study of Estonians in America (New York: Estonian Learned Society in America, 1979).
  • "Estonians" in Stephan Thernstrom, Ann Orlov and Oscar Handlin, eds. Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (1980) Online
  • Tammaru, Tiit, Kaja Kumer-Haukanõmm, and Kristi Anniste. "The formation and development of the Estonian diaspora." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36.7 (2010): 1157-1174. online
  • Walko, M. Ann. Rejecting the Second Generation Hypothesis: Maintaining Estonian Ethnicity in Lakewood, New Jersey (AMS Press, 1989).
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Estonian_Americans&oldid=1265028673"