Luxembourgish 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 ...

of Luxembourgish ancestry. According to the United States' 2000 census, there were 45,139 Americans of full or partial Luxembourgish descent. In 1940, the number of Americans with Luxembourgish ancestry was around 100,000. The first families from Luxembourg arrived in the United States, around 1842, fleeing from the

overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migr ...

and economic change in the newly independent country. They worked in the field, as was traditional in their country.Encyclopedia of Chicago: Luxembourgers
Posted by Kathleen Neils Conzen. Luxembourger Americans are overwhelmingly concentrated in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, where most originally settled in the 19th century. In the 2000 census, the

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

with the largest self-reported Luxembourger American populations were

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(6,963),

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 ...

(6,580),

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 ...

(5,867),

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(5,624), and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(2,824).

History

Between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century, approximately one-third of the Luxembourgish population emigrated. Luxembourg was, at the time, a poor country with an economy dominated by agriculture. The United States was a popular destination for Luxembourgers, as it was for many other European emigrants of the period. The number of Luxembourgers who emigrated to the US in the 19th century is thought to be around 60,000–70,000. Germans-emigrate-1874

Substantial Luxembourgish emigration to America took off from about 1845, for several reasons. Advances in medicine caused the rate of infant mortality to decline. This resulted in overpopulation. The lack of work in industry led many to despair. The country could no longer feed its population. In the large families of the time, the dividing up of inheritances led to fragmentation of land ownership. The portion of each child was reduced to a few hectares, which was barely enough to feed a family. Selling one's portion to the elder brother, however, provided enough money for the other siblings to pay for the voyage to America and to start a new life there. Traveling was becoming easier in this period as well. Previously, it had taken as long to go from Luxembourg to Paris as from there to America. After a while, the news came to Europe that there was much unused land available in America. The

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

offered fertile land for low prices. Many therefore took the step of attempting a new start, since staying in one's home country would mean death by starvation. Luxembourgers arriving in the United States would not necessarily be registered as such by the authorities, but instead as Belgians or Germans. After arriving in New York, Luxembourgers tended to move on to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, as well as

, and

. A small number stayed in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 1871, just after the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

parishioners of St. Michael's Church in

formed the first Luxembourger American organization in the United States, the Luxemburger Unterstützungsverein (Luxembourg Mutual Aid Society). Other organizations followed including the Luxembourg Bruderbund and the Luxembourg American Cultural Society. Nearly 1000 Luxembourgish Americans fought for the Union Army during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, including whole companies of Luxembourgish descendents from Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

Notable people

René Arend René Arend (1928–2016) was a Luxembourgish American chef who served as the first executive chef for McDonald's. He is best known for creating several of McDonald's popular menu items, including Chicken McNuggets and the McRib sandwich. Early ...

(1928–2016), McDonald's first executive chef * John W. Beschter (1763–1842), Jesuit missionary and briefly president of

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...

(born 1954), tennis player and winner of 21

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

titles *

Red Faber Urban Clarence "Red" Faber (September 6, 1888 – September 25, 1976) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , playing his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. He was a member of the 1919 Chicago White So ...

(1888–1976), baseball player and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

inductee *

Hugo Gernsback Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish American editor and magazine publisher whose publications included the first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stories''. His contributions to ...

(1884–1967), inventor and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer *

Raymond E. Goedert Raymond Emil Goedert (October 15, 1927 – December 9, 2023) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Goedert served as an auxiliary bishop of the Latin Church Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1991 to 2003. Biography Early year ...

(1927–2023), Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeast Illinois, Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and e ...

Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert ( ; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician, teacher, and wrestling coach who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Hast ...

(born 1942), Republican politician and former

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

Theodore Hesburgh Theodore Martin Hesburgh, Congregation of Holy Cross, CSC (May 25, 1917 – February 26, 2015) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic priest and academic who was a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He was president of the Universit ...

(1917–2015), priest and academic leader, former president of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

* Paul O. Husting (1866–1917), Democratic politician and former

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

for

Vincent Kartheiser Vincent Paul Kartheiser (born May 5, 1979) is an American actor. He gained acclaim for his role as Pete Campbell on the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' from 2007 to 2015. He had starring roles in films such as ''Alaska'' (1996), '' Masterminds'' ( ...

(born 1979), actor known for playing Connor in ''Angel'' and

Pete Campbell Peter Dyckman Campbell (born February 28, 1934) is a fictional character on AMC's television series '' Mad Men''. He is portrayed by Vincent Kartheiser. Kartheiser has won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemb ...

in ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' * Richard F. Kneip (1933–1987), Democratic politician and former

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Larry Rhoden, a member of the Republican Party ...

Paul Lauterbur Paul Christian Lauterbur (May 6, 1929 – March 27, 2007) was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possi ...

(1929–2007), chemist and winner of the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

* John L. May (1922–1994), clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church; served as Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile ''Former names: Apostolic Vicariate of Alabama and the Floridas (1825-1829), Diocese of Mobile (1829-1954; 1969-1980), Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham (1954-1969).'' The Archdiocese of Mobile (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Mobiliensis'') is a Latin Church ...

and then as Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of November 2024, the archdiocese is led by Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozan ...

, died in office *

Arno Mayer Arno Joseph Mayer (June 19, 1926 – December 18, 2023) was an American historian who specialized in modern Europe, diplomatic history, and the Holocaust. He was the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University. Early life and ...

(born 1926), historian and professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Nicholas Muller Nicholas Muller (November 15, 1836 – December 12, 1917) was an American banker and politician who served four different stints as a United States representative from United States congressional delegations from New York, New York during the l ...

(1836–1917), Democratic politician and former

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

* Gene Scholz (1917–2005), professional basketball player *

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (; March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter and curator and a pioneer of fashion photography. His gown images for the magazine ''Art et Décoration'' in 1911 were the first modern ...

(1879–1973), photographer, painter, art gallery and museum curator *

Alex Wagner Alexandra Swe Wagner (born November 27, 1977) is an American journalist and television host. She is a senior political analyst and was the host of '' Alex Wagner Tonight ''on MSNBC. She is the author of ''FutureFace: A Family Mystery, an Epic Qu ...

(born 1977), journalist and author *

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

(born 1964), governor of

, 2024 Democratic Party nominee for

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

. *

Matthew Woll Matthew Woll (January 25, 1880 – June 1, 1956) was president of the International Photo-Engravers Union of North America from 1906 to 1929, an American Federation of Labor (AFL) vice president from 1919 to 1955 and an AFL-CIO vice president ...

(1880–1956), trade unionist and former Vice President of the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

(1913–2000), actress and Best Actress Academy Award winner * Bernard J. Cigrand, dentist and father of

flag day A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag) or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag. Flag days are usually codified in national s ...

References

External links

Luxembourgish in the United States

English Language contact in the Luxembourgish linguistic enclaves in the Midwest of the USA

Amira Ouardalitou researches the Luxembourgish language in the New World

* ttps://de.slideshare.net/VailCorp/wort-16-sep-2011/ US Luxemburgisch in den USA
Letzebuergesch an Amerika vum Henri Fischbach

Englischer Sprachkontakt in den luxemburgischen Sprachinseln im Mittleren Westen der USA - Master thesis Amira Ouardalitou
{{Luxembourgish diaspora 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 ...

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links