Finnish American Hall of Fame

Finnish American
Hall of Fame
Jouni Korkiasaari
Information Service Manager
The Institute of Migration
Turku, Finland
Presented at
FinnFest USA 2013,
Hancock, Michigan
June 21, 2013
Finnish American Hall of Fame?
“Finnish Americans as a group tend not to
promote the concept of individual merit.”
(Oma kehu haisee – a Finnish proverb often
quoted by Finnish Americans – means "selfpraise smells putrid.")
Marianne Wargelin in her article “Finnish Americans”:
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Finnish-Americans.html
http://hostfest.com/awards/hall-of-fame
The ScandinavianAmerican Hall of Fame
was established in
Minot, N.D., in 1984
as a permanent
component of Norsk
Høsfest.
http://www.lawzone.com/half-nor/hallfame.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_Americans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_people_of_Finnish_descent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Am
erican_people_of_Finnish_descent
John Morton 1724–1777
John Morton
John Morton (1725–1777) was a
farmer, surveyor, and jurist from the
Province of Pennsylvania. As a
delegate to the Continental
Congress during the American
Revolution, he provided the swing
vote that allowed Pennsylvania to
vote in favor of the United States
Declaration of Independence.
Morton signed the Declaration and
chaired the committee that wrote
the Articles of Confederation.
http://en.wikipedia.org
John Morton signing Declaration of Independence in 1776.
– American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia.
John Morton was born in 1725 in Ridley
Township, in Chester County, Pennsylvania,
now part of Delaware County. His parents
were John Morton and Mary Archer, both
of Finnish descent.
John Morton the younger’s greatgrandfather Martti Marttinen was born in
Finland. He had moved for a time to
Värmland, Sweden, and then in 1654 on to
the Swedish colony of New Sweden. He is
also known in Swedish style as Mårten
Mårtensson. At some point, the name was
shortened and simplified into the English
form of Morton.
About 1748, Morton Jr. married Ann Justis,
who was herself a great-granddaughter of
Finnish colonists to New Sweden.
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.johnmortonproject.com
The signing of
the Declaration
of Independence
in Philadelphia in
1776.
An online presentation on John Morton: http://www.migrationinstitute.fi/vex/Morton
http://www.inglenook.com
• Gustave Niebaum (originally Nybom, born in Oulu Finland)
acquired his maritime schooling in Helsinki. By the end of
1850s - now a Sea Captain – Gustave Niebaum had become
the world's leading fur trader. Among his many known
accomplishments Captain Niebaum founded the Alaskan
Commercial Company in San Francisco, CA.
• Niebaum was an important contributor in the drawing of some
of the first official maps of the Alaskan coast line. As the
Consul of Russia in USA in 1867 (at the time Finland was an
autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia) Niebaum was a major
contributor in the expedition and ratification of the purchasing
contract through which USA bought Alaska from Russia.
• In 1879 Niebaum established the Inglenook Winery in
Rutherford, California (Napa Valley). It was the first Bordeaux
style winery in USA. Nienaum's wines became world renown.
His Inglenook wines won gold medals for instance in the
World's Fair of Paris in 1889. The winery was acquired by
Francis Ford Coppola in 1975 and it is now the home to
Coppola's Rubicon Estate Winery.
http://www.inglenook.com
© Jouni Korkiasaari 2006
© Jouni Korkiasaari 2006
Matti Kurikka (born 1863 Tuutari, Ingria) was a
Finnish journalist, theosophist, and utopian
socialist. Kurikka died in 1915 Westerly, Rhode
Island but was living at that time in Penkere, CT).
Kurikka was the editor of the Työmies newspaper
from 1897–1899. In 1908 Kurikka purchased the
Wiipurin Sanomat. As editor of Wiipurin Sanomat,
Kurikka was initially influenced by the Young Finns
political movement, later moving towards Christian
socialism. Kurikka moved to North America in the
year 1900 and founded the newspaper Aika, the
first Finnish-Canadian newspaper.
In 1901 Kurikka helped establish Sointula, a
utopian island colony on Malcolm Island, British
Columbia based on cooperative principles. Sointula
dissolved as a utopian colony in 1905 after
financial difficulties and a devastating fire, but
continued as a fishing and logging based
community.
Matti Kurikka’s grave is in
Green-Wood Cemetery in
Brooklyn, New York.
• The Finnish utopian emigration to North America is closely associated
with the life of Matti Kurikka (1863–1915). He was a charismatic
journalist and author and at certain times one of the leading figures in the
Finnish worker's movement.
• In 1901 Matti Kurikka was appointed president of the Kalevan Kansa
Colonisation Company Limited. Authorities in British Columbia granted
land on Malcolm Island (Sointula) to the company. What followed is an
intriguing story – the initial enthusiasm of the settlers, the difficulties that
they encountered, Kurikka's visionary schemes, and the accumulation of
overwhelming debt.
• In 1905 Kurikka chose a group of 24 bachelors to establish a new
settlement "Sammon Takojat“ in Webster's Corner at Frazer river, 30
miles from Vancouver. This time no women were allowed as it was
considered that women were a distracting element. Sammon Takojat was
a cooperative, but in 1912 the disagreement had reached the point where
it was decided to disband the company.
• "The uniqueness of Kurikka was the fact that only a few people have
been able to attract as much of enormous expectations and still fewer
betrayed miserably all hopes thus directed." Kurikka's ideological thinking
was derived mainly from socialism, theosophy and writings of Tolstoy. In
addition he was very nationalistic and highly appreciated Kalevala.
Oscar Larson (1871–1957)
Oscar John Larson was a U.S. Representative
from Minnesota. He was born in a Swedishspeaking family in Oulu, Finland and immigrated
to the United States in 1876 with his parents,
who settled in Calumet, Michigan. He graduated
from the law department of the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1894, was admitted to
the bar and commenced practice in Calumet in
1894. He served as the prosecuting attorney for
Houghton County from 1899 – 1904. In 1907, he
moved to Duluth, Minnesota and continued the
practice of law.
He was elected as a Republican to the 67th and
68th congresses, (1921–1925), opting not to run
for re-election in 1924. He resumed the practice
of law for many years and died in Duluth on
August 1, 1957.
Amy Kaukonen (1891–1984)
Amy Agnes Kaukonen was Mayor of Fairport,
OH, in 1922–23, and the first woman to be
elected in Ohio to that office. She was the
youngest graduate of the Women's Medical
College of Pennsylvania, Dr. Amy started her
practice in Ashtabula, Ohio. She and her
widowed mother moved to Fairport Harbor,
Ohio where the town was reportedly running
roughshod, teeming with people and
problems. Illegal alcohol importation,
production, and consumption made Prohibition
a laughing stock and concerned citizens
convinced Dr. Amy to run for Mayor. She was
leading the charge against moonshine,
breaking up stills, holding Mayor's court, and
effectively returning order to Fairport Harbor..
Dr. Amy earned recognition and fame and was
a coast-to-coast celebrity. Ylistaro, Finland, her
parents' hometown publicly displayed her
exploits.
Kaukonen abruptly resigned
after 19 months of a 24
month term in office and
moved "out West" to a better
job. She returned to
Cleveland, did political work
there, retired, and lived to be
93 years old in Painesville,
Ohio.
March 2 1936
July 2 1956
Feb 5 1940
Eero Saarinen (1910–1961)
Emil Hurja 1892–1953
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
(1867–1951)
Gus Hall (1910–2000)
Hall (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg)
was a leader and Chairman of the
Communist Party USA and
its four-time U.S. presidential
candidate.
As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with
the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to
unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel
manufacturers. During the Second Red Scare, Hall
was sentenced to eight years in prison. After his
release, Hall led the Communist Party for over 40
years.
Hall was born in Cherry, Minnesota. His parents, Matt
(Matti) and Susan (Susanna) Halberg, were Finnish
immigrants from the Lapua region, and were
politically radical. Hall's home language was Finnish,
and he conversed with his nine siblings in that
language for the rest of his life.
Votes in the presidential elections
Year
Running mate
Votes
%
1972
Jarvis Tyner
25,597
0.03
1976
Jarvis Tyner
58,709
0.07
1980
Angela Davis
44,933
0.05
1984
Angela Davis
36,386
0.04
Architect and city planner, notable for his
influence in modern architecture in the United
States, particularly on skyscraper and church
design. He became the foremost architect of his
generation in Finland before he moved to the
U.S. in 1923. By 1914 he was widely known in
Europe. In Finland, Saarinen's most celebrated
building was the railway station in Helsinki. He
took second prize in the Chicago Tribune Tower
competition in 1922.
Architect and designer, son of the famous architect
Eliel Saarinen, he collaborated with Charles Eames
on a revolutionary body-molded plywood-shell chair.
He continued researches on this new material and
designed among others the famous "Womb" chair
in 1946 and "Tulip" chair in 1956 both edited by Knoll.
He worked as an architect in his father's studio where
he created in a free organic style important works
like TWA Kennedy airport's terminal.
•
Wallace (Wally) Wood was one of the most important comic book
creators of the 1950s and the 1960s and continued to produce inspired
work until his death in 1981. He was born in 1927 at Menahga, Minnesota.
He later studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and the Cartoonist and
Illustrators School (now known as the School of Visual Arts) at New York
City.
•
In 1950, Wood's talents blossomed at William Gaines' EC Publications,
and it was here that he became MAD Magazine's first star cartoonist.
Wood's work for Tales From the Crypt and Weird Science comic books led
him to be considered one of the greatest science fiction artists of all time.
•
Wally was a three time winner of the Best Comic Book Cartoonist award
from the National Cartooning Society, plus recipient of several other
awards over his 33 year career as a free lance cartoonist. Although best
known for his work in the comics field, Wally also worked on book
illustrations, political cartoons and advertising.
http://www.wallacewoodestate.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wallace-Wally-Wood/66058331284
© Jouni Korkiasaari 2006
Arvo Ojala
Hollywood advisor and expert
quickdraw artist, frequently
credited as a "technical
director" but also working as
an actor
• For twenty years, fans of the Western TV
series "Gunsmoke" watched the opening
credits in which James Arness as Matt Dillon
faced down a gunslinger. Each week, Dillon
killed the badguy.
• What many people didn't know was the name
of the gunslinger in the famous credit
sequence, now you do: Arvo Ojala. The
sequence was actually filmed four different
times during the series's two decade run, but
Mr. Ojala was the duelist in the first version.
• Arvo Ojala was one of the top gun coaches in
Hollywood history. He was a master of the
quick draw, and not just in the movies. Mr.
Ojala was a marksman with few peers.
• He acted in such films and TV shows as
"Lancer," "Two-Gun Lady" and "The Oregon
Trail." He was technical advisor and gun coach
on such films and TV shows as "Silverado,"
"The War Wagon," "Back to the Future II,"
"Sugarfoot," "Maverick," the rock and roll
Western "Zachariah" and "Three Amigos."
http://www.arvoojalaholstercompany.biz/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Ojala
http://www.fastdraw.org/fd_holsterhist.html
Vaino (Väinö) Hoover (1905–1983)
Hoover was a businessman and the former president and chief executive
officer of Hoover Electric Company, designed and manufactured electric
actuators and power flight control system components for aircraft and deep
sea equipment. An important figure in the American defense industry of the
1950s and 1960s, he was a member of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's
National Defense Advisory Committee.
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Finnish-Americans.html
Vaino Hoover was born into a poor immigrant family in Colorado, but like so
many second-generation Finnish-Americans, managed to get an advanced
education, including a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics and
Mathematics. He used his genius to become a wealthy entrepreneur, donating
an initial solid financial base for the Finlandia Foundation.
http://www.finlandiafoundation.org/History
Raymond W. Wargelin (1911-2003)
Raymond W. Wargelin was born in Republic,
Michigan. He became a renowned clergyman,
educator and advocate of Finnish-American
culture. He served Suomi Synod Lutheran
congregations in Berkeley and Reedley, California,
and Fairport Harbor, Ohio.
He taught theology at Suomi College in Michigan,
later serving as its president. He was executive
director of the Suomi Synod Luther League and
editor-in-chief of the Lutheran Counselor. He also
served as Bishop of the Finnish Evangelical
Lutheran Church, Suomi Synod.
Wargelin was a noted historian and scholar of
Immigration Research whose papers reside at the
Immigration History Research Center, College of
Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota.
Arthur William Hoglund (1926–2008)
Professor Emeritus of History, University of Connecticut
His dedication and
service to Finnish
Americans led Bill
Hoglund to be Knighted
by the Republic of
Finland in 2004 and
awarded the medal of
the White Rose, the
country’s highest
civilian honor.
Arthur (Bill) William Hoglund was born in Baltimore,
Maryland in 1926. After graduating 1945 Bill attended
Cornell University where he received a BA degree in
History in 1949. He then enrolled in graduate studies at
the University of Wisconsin where he obtained both a
Master’s degree (1950) and Ph.D. (1957) in History. His
dissertation, entitled Paradise Rebuilt: Finnish
Immigrants and Their America, 1880-1920 was the
groundwork for several books and articles on Finnish
Immigrants in America.
In 1957 Bill became Assistant Professor at Muskingum
College, in New Concord, Ohio where he taught until
1961 when he accepted a faculty position at the
University of Connecticut where he remained Professor
of History for 36 years until his retirement in 1997.
Before his death, Bill sent his entire Finnish library to
the University of Minnesota to be housed in the Arthur
William Hoglund Collection.
Lauri Törni (1919–1965)
Törni was a Finnish Army captain who led an
infantry company in Finnish Winter and Continuation
War and moved to the United States after the war,
served with the U.S. Army Special Forces in Vietnam
War, the role actor John Wayne played in the film
"The Green Berets" was modeled on Torni, AKA
Larry Thorne.
He is known as the soldier who fought under three
flags: Finnish, German (when he fought the Soviets
in WW II) and American (where he was known as
Larry Thorne).
Larry Thorne, christened "Lauri Allan Törni" at birth,
was born in Viipuri, Finland, to a ship captain. He
entered military service in 1938, attending Reserve
Officer school in Hamina in February 1940 during the
Winter War.
David Keith Lynch
Lynch is an American filmmaker, television
director, visual artist, musician and occasional
actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has
developed his own unique cinematic style,
which has been dubbed "Lynchian", a style
characterized by its dream imagery and
meticulous sound design. Notable works: Twin
Peaks, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, The
Elephant Man, Eraserhead.
Lynch was born in Missoula, Montana in 1946.
His mother, Edwina "Sunny" Lynch (née
Sundholm), was an English language tutor
whose grandfather's parents had immigrated
to the United States from Finland in the 19th
century.
David Lynch at the
1990 Emmy Awards
Matt Damon in
2013 in Cannes
Matt Damon
Matt Damon was born in Cambridge, Mass. His father Kent
Damon is of Scottish and English ancestry, while his mother
Nancy Carlsson-Paige is of Finnish and Swedish descent.
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon (b. 1970) is an actor, screenwriter,
producer, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success
of the drama film Good Will Hunting (1997) from a screenplay he co-wrote
with friend and actor Ben Affleck. The pair won the Academy Award for Best
Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for their
work. For his performance in the film, Damon received nominations for the
Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Satellite Award, and the Screen Actors
Guild Award for Best Actor.
Damon has since starred in many commercially successful films such as Saving
Private Ryan (1998), the Ocean's trilogy, the first three films in the Bourne
series, Syriana (2005), The Good Shepherd (2006), The Departed (2006), and
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). He is one of the top-40 highest-grossing
actors of all time.
Renny Harlin
Finnish American film director and producer
Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola was born in 1959
in Riihimäki, Finland. After visiting and later
settling in the United States, he broke into the
Hollywood film industry with the release of
Born American (1986).
He is best known for directing action movies
such as DieHard 2 (1990), Cliffhanger (1993),
and the poorly received Cutthroat Island
(1995). Each of these movies depicts a Finnish
motif within the film – such as Sibelius'
Finlandia, colors of the Finnish flag on a
parachute, or individual Finnish flags. Harlin
was married to actress Geena Davis (19931998). Harlin owns Midnight Sun Pictures and
lives in Los Angeles.
Born American 1986
Prison 1988
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream
Master 1988
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane 1990
Die Hard 2 1990
Cliffhanger 1993
Cutthroat Island 1995
The Long Kiss Goodnight 1996
Deep Blue Sea 1999
Driven 2001
Mindhunters 2004
Exorcist: The Beginning 2004
The Covenant 2006
Cleaner 2007
12 Rounds 2009
5 Days of War 2011
The Dyatlov Pass Incident 2013[14]
Hercules 3D 2014
Cheri Honkala (b. 1963)
Cheri Lynn Honkala is an American anti-poverty
advocate, co-founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights
Union and co-founder and National Coordinator of the
Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. She
has been a noted advocate for human. She is possibly
best known for being the Green Party's nominee for
vice-president in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
In 2011, Honkala was the Green Party candidate for
Sheriff of Philadelphia, running on the promise of
refusing to evict families from their homes. She was
featured prominently in the 1997 book Myth of the
Welfare Queen by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David
Zucchino.
Cheri Honkala was born into poverty in Minneapolis,
MN, in 1963. She has Finnish ancestry from her father's
side (Maynard Duane Honkala) and Native American
ancestry from her mother, who was Cheyenne (Minerva
"Minnette" Mendez, née Picache).
Singer
Bobby Vee (born Robert Thomas Velline)
Bobby Vee was born in 1943 in Fargo, North
Dakota to a Finnish mother (Saima Cecilia
Tapanila) and Norwegian father. As a child
Bobby spent summers on the Tuomala Family
Farm in Perth, North Dakota with his cousins.
“Vee remembers how he and his brothers would
be in the Rolla area (Mt. Pleasant Township,
Rolette County) for weeks every summer, and
especially remembers how the older folks would
talk in Finnish - especially when they would
swear.” Vee was singing star of the 1960s. He
starred as the leading man in the 1967 musical
comedy Let's Live a Little. He remains active in
the music industry, and is a regular performer at
the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater in
Branson, MO.
According to Billboard
magazine, Vee has
had 38 Hot 100 chart
hits, 10 of which hit
the Top 20.
http://www.bobbyvee.net
Blues, folk and rock guitarist
Jorma Kaukonen (b. 1940 in Washington, D.C)
Kaukonen had Finnish paternal grandparents and
Russian Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. He was a
founding member of the popular psychedelic San
Francisco-based band Jefferson Airplane, which scored
two Top 10 radio hits in 1967 with "Somebody to Love"
and "White Rabbit."
With his wife Vanessa, Kaukonen currently owns and
operates the Fur Peace Ranch, a music and guitar camp
in Ohio, north of Pomeroy; complete with a 32 track
studio. He is currently under contract as a solo artist to
Red House Records and still records and tours with Jack
Casady and other friends such as Barry Mitterhoff as Hot
Tuna. His 2002 album Blue Country Heart was widely
acclaimed by critics as one of the definitive examples of
American "Depression Era" music and features Kaukonen
backed by an all-star Nashville bluegrass band. The
album was nominated for a Grammy Award.
http://jormakaukonen.com
Jean Auel
Author Jean Auel - Finnish American
Jean Marie Auel (née Untinen) was
born 1936 in Chicago, Illinois. She is
best known for her Earth's Children
books, a series of historical fiction
novels set in prehistoric Europe that
explores interactions of Cro-Magnon
people with Neanderthals. Her books
have sold 34 million copies world-wide
in many translations. She and her
husband, Ray Bernard Auel, have five
children and live in Portland, Oregon.
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg (b. 1935)
is an American sportscaster. He
provides play-by-play for telecasts
of San Diego Padres baseball on
Fox Sports San Diego, following a
long career calling various sports
for such networks as NBC, CBS, and
ESPN. Enberg is well known for his
signature catchphrase ("Oh, my!")
that he uses after exciting and
outstanding athletic plays. He also
announced or hosted the
Tournament of Roses Parade for
many years, sometimes with the
help of family members.
Enberg’s father was born in Finland,
and changed his name from the
Finnish "Katajavuori" to the Swedish
equivalent Enberg on arrival in the
U.S. as he felt it would be a more
simple name. The surname means
"juniper mountain".
Timothy L. Kopra (b. 1963 in Austin, TX)
Astronaut, Flew missions on the International
Space Station and Space Shuttle Discovery, U.S.
Army Colonel, Desert Storm Veteran, Bronze Star,
West Point Graduate.
Kopra’s grandfather, Antti Kopra, born in Laavola,
Valkjärvi, Karelia, and his grandmother, Ester
Elisabet Saksinen, born in Helsinki, left Finland in
1914, immigrating to the United States. Kopra's
father spoke Finnish, but Tim does not speak the
language.
Kopra spent 58 days as a Flight Engineer of
Expedition 20 on the ISS, arriving aboard the
station aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the
STS-127 mission and returning to Earth aboard
space shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission.
He participated in the first spacewalk of the STS127 mission.
Kopra was assigned to
fly on STS-133, the final
flight of the Discovery.
He lost that assignment
when he was injured in
a bicycle accident.
Kevin Tapani
Baseball pitcher Kevin Ray Tapani Former Major League Baseball pitcher
born in 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tapani played for the New York Mets,
Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles
Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and
Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001.
Tapani was member of the 1991
World Series Champion Minnesota
Twins team, and member of the 1995
National League Western Division
Champion Los Angeles Dodgers team.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Tapani
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=tapanke01
NHL hockey players
http://www.hockey-reference.com
Sami Kapanen
Mikko Koivu
Saku Koivu
Jari Kurri
Pentti Lund
Teppo Numminen
Sami Salo
Teemu Selanne
Esa Tikkanen
Kimmo Timonen
1996–2008
2006–2013
1996–2013
1981–1998
1949–1953
1989–2009
1999–2013
1993–2013
1986–1999
1999–2013
The first NHL players of Finnish origin were Finnish Canadians Albert Pudas
(1899–1976) in the 1920s and Pentti Lund (1925–2013) in the 1940s and
1950s.
Teemu Ilmari Selänne, "The Finnish Flash“
(b. 1970) is a Finnish professional ice hockey
winger and alternate captain of the Anaheim
Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
An offensive player known for his skill and
speed, Selänne has led the NHL in goal-scoring
three times and has been named to the
league's First All-Star Team on two occasions.
He has won the Stanley Cup once with the
Ducks in 2007. Selänne is the last active player
drafted in the 1980s still playing in the NHL, as
well as the oldest player in the NHL.
Matthew Norman Niskanen (b. 1986) is an
American professional ice hockey defenseman
currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins in
the National Hockey League. He was drafted by
the Dallas Stars in the first round, 28th overall,
in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Linus Torvalds (b. 1969)
Torvalds is a Finnish-born software engineer and
hacker, who was the principal force behind the
development of the Linux operation system. He
later became the chief architect of the Linux
kernel, and now acts as the project's coordinator.
He also created the revision control system Git as
well as the diving log software Subsurface. He
was honored, along with Shinya Yamanaka, with
the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize by the
Technology Academy Finland.
Moved to the US in 1997. Lives in Portland, OR.
TUX, the penguin, mascot of Linux
Ubuntu, a popular Linux distribution