Finnish Americans (, ) comprise

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 ...

with ancestral roots in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, or

Finnish people Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...

who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population is around 650,000. Many Finnish people historically immigrated to the Upper Peninsula of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and the Iron Range of northern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

to work in the mining industry; much of the population in these regions is of Finnish descent.

History

Some Finns, like the ancestors of John Morton, came to the Swedish 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 ...

, located in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

in the mid-17th century. In

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Finns came to Sitka (when it was still called New Archangel) as migrant workers. Arvid Adolf Etholén was the first Finnish governor of Russian America, and the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

was built for Finns. Finns started coming to the United States in large numbers in the late 19th century, and this movement continued until the mid-20th century. However, there were some Finns in the United States before this; they were instrumental in the development of the New Sweden colony on 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 ...

, later absorbed into

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

. Many townships were established by Finnish Americans, including Herman, located in Baraga County, Michigan. The town is named for Herman Keranen, of Puolanka, Finland. A significant number of Finnish immigrants also settled in northern

, especially in the Arrowhead Region, along with portions of Aitkin, Crow Wing, and Carlton counties, often working in the region's iron mines. A number of the Finns fleeing the Russification efforts in their native country also immigrated to many of the mill-towns of New England, where they became known for their woodworking skills.

First migrants (1640–1870)

The first immigrants to North America arrived at the

colony by the lower

in 1640. Finland was an integrated part of the Kingdom of Sweden at the time, and a Swedish colony in the New World thus had subjects from Finland as well. In two years' time, the number of Finns in the settlement had grown to fifty, and was increasing. New Sweden changed hands and came under Dutch control in 1655 and the Finnish community, while still small, was growing. Among the Finnish settlers of New Sweden was Martti Marttinen, who came to North America in 1654 and changed his name to Morton. John Morton, the politician who signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence on behalf of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1776, was his great-grandson. Migration to North America from Finland continued throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, but it was very sporadic in nature and only a few individuals and groups dared make the move. This was largely due to the long distance between Europe and America, and the difficulties associated with crossing it. However, as the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

began with the turn of the 19th century, bringing with it such technological innovations as railroads and steam ships, these obstacles slowly began to disappear. While the rest of Europe was industrializing, Finland, by now a Grand Duchy of the

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 ...

, was to a great extent excluded from the revolutionary process. The society was largely agrarian, and

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

was rising, thanks to population growth and the fact that there was now little land left to cultivate in the country. America, on the other hand, possessed abundant natural resources but lacked a workforce. Rural life in Finland during the 1860s seemed doomed to remain laborious, stunted, and forever at the mercy of unpredictable weather. In 1867, a severe

crop failure Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

in Finland drove masses of Finns, especially from rural Ostrobothnia, to migrate into

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, from where they later moved to the

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 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Religion

The Laestadian Finns longed for a rural way of life and religious toleration which they believed they would find in America. Thus, a group of Laestadian preachers and their followers immigrated to the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula of ...

, bringing their faith with them. In 1873 the Finnish Laestadians started their own congregation at Calumet,

. By 1906 the Laestadian or Apostolic Lutheran movement in America had 68 churches and a communicant body of over 8,000. The denomination was a significant minority within the Finnish Lutheran community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Most Finnish immigrants at the time joined the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, which eventually became part of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

and remains in Calumet, Michigan, alongside various Apostolic (Laestadian) Lutheran churches.

The Great Migration (1870–1930)

The years between 1870 and 1930 are sometimes referred to as the Great Migration of Finns to North America. In the 1870s, there were only 3,000 migrants from Finland, but their number rapidly grew thereafter. New migrants often sent letters home, describing their life in the New World, and this encouraged more and more people to leave and try their luck in America. Rumours began of the acres of land that could be cleared into vast productive fields, and the opportunity to earn "a barrel of American dollars" in mines, factories, and railroads. There were also professional recruiters, or agents, employed by

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

companies, who encouraged Finns to move to the United States. More than 90% of the Finnish immigrants lived in urban centers. This recruitment activity was frowned upon by the authorities of the Grand Duchy, and it was mostly done in secret. It was eventually brought to an end in the late 1880s by legislation in the United States, but the decade still saw a 12-fold increase in the number of Finnish migrants compared to the previous decade, as 36,000 Finns left their home country for North America. The movement was strengthened even further in 1899, as the Russian government started an aggressive, coordinated campaign for the Russification of Finland. Many Finns chose to escape the repression by migrating to the New World, and, during the 1900s, there were 150,000 new migrants. Most Finns who left for America came from the impoverished rural regions of Ostrobothnia. Other prominent points of departure were Northern Savonia and the Torne Valley. Many of the emigrants left by ship from the port town of Hanko. Judging from municipalities of origin and later linguistic statistics, it is estimated that about 20-22% of all Finnish emigrants from 1893 to 1929 were Finland Swedes of which two thirds came from the Swedish-speaking coastal parts of Ostrobothnia, and also many from the

Åland Islands Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

which had a high share of emigrants relative to population. This would mean an over-representation of Swedish speakers emigrating from Finland at the time. In the years surrounding the turn of the 20th century, settlement was focused around three specific regions: * Several pockets of Finnish settlement appeared in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

were the prime destinations for scores of skilled and general laborers. Cities such as

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, and Monessen, Pennsylvania attracted thousands of Finns to settle in both urban and rural settings. From about 1910–30,

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of North Shore (Massachusetts), Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. ...

had a thriving community of some 3,000 Finnish granite quarry workers. * In the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

, a similar pattern rapidly took shape. Due to the region's similar geographic and climatic features to Finland, the heaviest levels of Finnish settlement were seen in an area known as the ''Finn Hook'', which includes northeastern

, northern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and the

, where Finns were heavily invested in mining and agriculture. At the same time, because of the connections between these sectors and Great Lakes shipping, another area of Finnish settlement formed in northeastern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, with its core located in the port city of Ashtabula and the nearby towns of Conneaut, Painesville and Fairport Harbor. Today, the region is known as having the highest population of Americans of Finnish ancestry of any region in the United States; in the northwestern half of the Upper Peninsula of

they make up the majority of the population. * In addition, a number of rural and urban locations in the Northwestern United States contained a number of Finnish-settled areas. Cities such as Aberdeen, Washington and

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

were known for being prime destinations for Finnish immigrants. The immigration of Finns gave birth to a strong Finnish-American culture, especially in cities such as

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

and Ashtabula, Ohio. Many villages were named after places in Finland (such as Toivola, Minnesota, Savo, South Dakota, and Oulu, Wisconsin). The Finnish exodus took place after most of the available farmland in the United States was already taken and Canada's was largely still available. While many immigrants pursued

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, others found employment in

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, and the

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

industry, while women usually worked as

maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...

s. In the case of the Finnish-American enclave in the Finger Lakes region south of

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

early in the 20th century, Finns left urban jobs in order to acquire farms that had been sold by their previous owners. The migration continued well into the 20th century, until U.S. authorities set up a quota of 529 Finnish immigrants per year in 1929. Initially, this led to an increase in Finnish immigration to Canada. But as social and economic conditions in Finland improved significantly during this era, overall immigration decreased by the middle of the century. The American revolutionary James P. Cannon noted that a considerable part of these immigrants tended towards the radical left in politics: "Under the impact of the Russian Revolution the foreign-born socialist movement grew by leaps and bounds. The foreign-born were organized in language federations, practically autonomous bodies affiliated with the Socialist Party. mong othersthere were about 12 thousand Finns, organized in their own federation".

Return

Most Finnish migrants had planned to stay only for a few years in North America, and then return to their native land once they had become rich. However, only about twenty percent of the migrants returned to

. Those who did, managed to import new ideas and technologies into Finland and put them into use there. Approximately ten thousand Finns returned from the New World, not to Finland but to the Soviet Union, in the 1920s and the 1930s to "build socialism" in the Karelian ASSR. This took place mainly for ideological reasons and was strongly supported by the political elite of the USSR.

Demographic concentrations

Today, the greatest concentration of Finnish Americans is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where they form 16% of the population, and are the largest ancestral group in the peninsula's western counties. Hancock, one city of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, could be considered a kind of "cultural capital" of the Finnish Americans. ''Finland Calling'', a weekly Finnish cultural television program hosted by Carl Pellonpaa, was broadcast on WLUC-TV in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In March 2015 the program's final episode aired, ending 53 years of weekly broadcasts. Stanton Township, Michigan, is the place in the U.S. with the largest proportion of people with Finnish ancestry, at 47%. The median Finnish-American household income is $70,045. Finnish Americans by metropolitan statistical area in 2019: # Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA 49,006 (1.33%) # Duluth, MN-WI MSA 29,881 (10.33%) # Detroit–Warren–Dearborn, MI MSA 29,120 (0.67%) # Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA 22,092 (0.55%) # Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA 20,881 (0.83%) # New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA 14,841 (0.08%) # Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA 14,394 (0.15%) # Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA 14,228 (0.29%) # Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA MSA 11,325 (0.09%)

Notable people

Eero Saarinen

Architect and product designer

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...

immigrated to the United States in 1923 when he was thirteen years of age and grew up in

. His father was architect

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

, the first president of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He studied architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and later the

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and graduated in 1934. After touring

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

for a couple of years he returned to the States and became a citizen in 1940. During the

Second World War 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 ...

Saarinen worked for

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS) which later became the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA). Saarinen is famous for his furniture and architectural designs. His designs include the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

at the

Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, the

TWA Flight Center The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal ...

at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and the main terminal of Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. Eero's son, Eric Saarinen, is a cinematographer and film director, who has photographed and cinematographed several features, including '' The Hills Have Eyes'', '' Lost in America'', and ''

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

''.

Other notable individuals

Notable Americans of some Finnish descent also include several film stars such as actresses Anna Easteden, Christine Lahti, Marian Nixon,

Maila Nurmi Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American actress best known for creating the Camp (style), campy 1950s character Vampira. She was raised in Astoria, Oregon, where ...

, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Mann and

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...

, actors Albert Salmi,

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...

, Richard Davalos and George Gaynes, and director

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

. Other notable individuals are author Jean M. Auel, historian Max Dimont (born in Finland of Russian Jewish parentage), cook and cookbook author Beatrice Ojakangas, politician Emil Hurja, labor activist T-Bone Slim, U.S. Communist Party leader Gus Hall (originally Arvo Kustaa Halberg), Finnish-Kiowa-Comanche U.S. Attorney Arvo Mikkanen, mathematician Lars Ahlfors, musicians

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

Einar Aaron Swan Einar Aaron Swan (born Einar (Eino) William Swan; March 20, 1903 – August 8, 1940) was an American musician, arranger and composer. He is known for writing songs including " When Your Lover Has Gone" and " In the Middle of a Dream". Early life S ...

, Jorma Kaukonen and

Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album. Hoppus became interested in ska ...

, science fiction author Hannu Rajaniemi, computer scientists

Linus Torvalds Linus Benedict Torvalds ( , ; born 28 December 1969) is a Finnish software engineer who is the creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel. He also created the distributed version control system Git. He was honored, along with Shinya Yam ...

and

Alfred Aho Alfred Vaino Aho (born August 9, 1941) is a Canadian computer scientist best known for his work on programming languages, compilers, and related algorithms, and his textbooks on the art and science of computer programming. Aho was elected into ...

, former Google executive and CEO of Yahoo Marissa Mayer, co-founder of Apple Mike Markkula, chairman and CEO of General Motors

Mary Barra Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. In De ...

, astronaut Timothy L. Kopra, special forces officer Larry Thorne, ice hockey player Matt Niskanen and serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Porn actress Puma Swede is of Finnish descent although she was born in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Culture

FinnFest USA is an annual festival held to celebrate Finnish heritage and culture in the United States. Organized by a non-profit organization of the same name, FinnFest USA has been held in a different location each year since 1983, often incorporating regional cultural elements of the local site into the year's event. To date there have also been three FinnGrandFests, a collaboration between Finnish-Americans and Finnish-Canadians: 2000 (

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

), 2005 (

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is the county seat of Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County and the largest city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Located on the shores of Lake Superior, Marquette is a major port known primarily for shippin ...

) and 2010 ( Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario). Finnish American culture is also celebrated at Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan, formerly Suomi College, which has been the only Finnish American institution of higher learning in the United States since the closing of Work People's College in

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

in 1941. Finlandia was established by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and is now affiliated with the

. In 2023, Finlandia University announced that it would be permanently closing following the completion of spring semester classes. Finlandia Foundation National, based in Pasedena, CA is working with the Finnish American Heritage Center to preserve their archives and continue the Finnish American Reporter newspaper. Salolampi Finnish Language Village is a

Finnish language Finnish (endonym: or ) is a Finnic languages, Finnic language of the Uralic languages, Uralic language family, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official langu ...

immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux * ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum * ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...

camp in

Bemidji Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,946, makin ...

. Founded in 1978, it is a member of the Concordia Language Villages, and celebrates Finnish and Finnish-American heritage, culture, and language.

Politics

Finnish-Americans historically favored Democratic Party candidates, owing to their frequent employment in mining and other blue-collar industries. This has changed in recent decades as many of the rural regions in which they are numerous have swung to the Republican Party. In 2010, the three congressional districts with the highest concentrations of Finnish Americans (Michigan 1st, Wisconsin 7th, and Minnesota 8th), all adjacent to Lake Superior, flipped from Democratic to Republican control.

Notes

References

External links

''Finnish American Lives''
a documentary film exploring traditional Finnish American culture *
The Finnish American Reporter
', monthly journal from Finlandia University
Finnish American Genealogical Resource

Finnish American Virtual Museum

FinnFest USA
An annual celebration of Finnish America

–

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Finnish Americans

The Finns

Site of first Finnish settlement in America

FinnishImmigrants.org
Records on approx. 25,000 passengers to the U.S. from Finland between 1834 through 1897
Salolampi Finnish Language Village
{{Finnish diaspora European diaspora in the United States