Estonian Americans () are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
who are of
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
* Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent
* Estonian language
* Estonian cuisine
* Estonian culture
See also ...
ancestry, mostly descendants of people who left
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
as refugees during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. According to the 2021
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
, around 29,000 Americans reported full or partial Estonian ancestry,
up from 26,762 in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
.
History
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
New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...
along the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
. Emigration from Estonia started on a larger scale in the late 19th century, when Estonia was part of the former
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, 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.
The beginnings of
industrialization
Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
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
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s and later,
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country.
The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
s.
Some thousand of them moved on from there and settled in the United States. After the war's end, these
displaced persons
Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...
were allowed to immigrate to the United States and to apply for
citizenship
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
. In 1948, the
Displaced Persons Act
The Displaced Persons Act of 1948 authorized, for a limited period of time, the admission into the United States of 200,000 certain European displaced persons (DPs) for permanent residence.
Overview
This displaced persons (DP) Immigration progra ...
from
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
stipulated that 40% of the available visas go to “
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
” people (Estonians,
Latvians
Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...
, and
Lithuanians
Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
). This act and its 1950 revision allowed 11,000 Estonians into the United States between 1948 and 1952.
Some of these refugees and their descendants started returning to Estonia at the end of the 1980s.
Notable people
President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
descended from 17th-century
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
er colonists in
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
.
Conductor
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...
was the music director of the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall (Detroit, Michigan), Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown, Detroit, ...
, the
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...
, as well as the international
Gothenburg Symphony
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO; ) is a Swedish symphony orchestra based in Gothenburg. The GSO is resident at the Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen. The orchestra received the title of the National Orchestra of Sweden () in 1997.
Ba ...
, and
Het Residentie Orkest Het Residentie Orkest (; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in The Hague.
History
Henri Viotta founded the orch ...
of
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
. His three children, conductors
Paavo Järvi
Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020.
Early life
Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...
and
Kristjan Järvi
Kristjan Järvi (, alternate (U.S.) spelling: Kristian Järvi) (born 13 June 1972) is an Estonian conductor, composer and producer. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he is the younger son of the conductor Neeme Järvi and brother of conductor Paavo Jär ...
, and flutist Maarika Järvi, are prominent American musicians in their own right. Paavo Järvi is the chief conductor of the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...
.
Chemist
Lauri Vaska emigrated to United States in 1949. He is distinguished for his research in
organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...
, winning the prestigious ''Boris Pregel Award''.
Hillar Rootare, a materials scientist, is best known for his work in the development of mercury
porosimetry
Porosimetry is an analytical technique used to determine various quantifiable aspects of a material's porous structure, such as pore diameter, total pore volume, surface area, and bulk and absolute densities.
The technique involves the intrusio ...
, high pressure liquid
chromatography
In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the Separation process, separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it ...
, and the formulation of the
Rootare-Prenzlow Equation.
In journalism,
Edmund S. Valtman, a successful editorial cartoonist, won the
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer may refer to:
*Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate
*Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award
*Pulitzer (surname)
*Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain
*Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-prof ...
.
Ene Riisna
Ene Riisna (born 27 July 1938) is an Estonian-born American television producer, known for her work on the American news show '' 20/20''.
Early life and education
Ene Riisna was born in Tallinn, Estonia to politician Eduard Riisna and his wife ...
is an Estonian-born American award-winning television producer, known for her work on the American news program
20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...
.
Alar Toomre
Alar Toomre (born 5 February 1937, in Rakvere) is an American astronomer and mathematician. He is a professor of applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Toomre's research is focused on the dynamics of galaxies. He is a ...
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
Miliza Elizabeth Korjus (August 18, 1909 – August 26, 1980) was a Polish-Estonian lyric coloratura soprano opera singer who appeared in classical American and Mexican sound films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Korjus became a naturalized ...
was nominated for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for her performance in the 1938 film ''
The Great Waltz''.
Hollywood actor
Johann Urb
Johann Urb (born 24 January 1977) is an Estonian-American actor and former model.
Early life and education
Johann Urb was born in Tallinn to parents Tarmo and Maris Urb. His father is an Estonian musician and the brother of actor and singer T ...
(born January 24, 1977) is an Estonian living and working in the United States.
Kerli Kõiv
Kerli Kõiv (; born 7 February 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer and songwriter.
Born in Elva, Kerli entered multiple singing competitions before being signed to Island Records in 2006 by LA Reid. In 2007, she re ...
(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
Jaak Panksepp (June 5, 1943 – April 18, 2017) was an Estonian-American neuroscientist and psychobiologist who coined the term "affective neuroscience", the name for the field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotion. He was the Baily End ...
(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
Mena Alexandra Suvari (; born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. The accolades she has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime ...
(born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, fashion designer, and model.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the 1 ...
, born December 26, 1953, in Sweden but raised in New Jersey, was the President of Estonia.
See also
*
European Americans
European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...
*
Hyphenated American
In the United States, the term hyphenated American refers to the use of a hyphen (in some styles of writing) between the name of an ethnicity and the word in compound nouns, e.g., as in . Calling a person a "hyphenated American" was used as ...
*
New York Estonian House
The Civic Club building, now the New York Estonian House (), is a four-story Beaux-Arts building located at 243 East 34th Street between Second and Third Avenues in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.
The house was ...
*
Estonia–United States relations
The relations between Estonia and the United States have been constant and strong since Estonia regained its independence in 1991. The United States and Estonia are allies and partners.
Both nations are members of the OECD, NATO and the United N ...
*
Estonian Canadians
References
Further reading
* 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.
*
* 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).
External links
at Countries and Their Cultures
{{Authority control
European diaspora in the United States
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...