The following is a list of Finnish Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Finnish American or must have references showing they are Finnish American and are notable.
Lars Ahlfors (1907–1996), mathematician, one of the first two people to be awarded the Fields Medal; Wolf Prize winner; William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University
Vaino Jack Vehko (1918–1999), automotive engineer; NASA rocket scientist; in 1960 became Director of Engineering on the Saturn S1 and S1B booster rocket program at Chrysler Space Division's Michoud operation in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Saturn boosters successfully launched all the NASA Apollo and Moon missions
Max Dimont (1912–1992), historian; author of Jews, God and History, which received critical acclaim and has sold over a million and a half copies; has lectured on Jewish history throughout the United States, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, and Finland; author of The Indestructible Jews, The Jews in America, and Appointment in Jerusalem
Eino Friberg (1901–1995), Protestant Minister and English translator of The Kalevala, the Finnish national epic
Bill Aho (born 1957), businessman who is a partner with The SagePoint Group, a management consulting firm, served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Darden Restaurants and was instrumental in turning around the Red Lobster business.
Mike Markkula (born 1942), entrepreneur; angel investor and second CEO of Apple Computer, Inc.; provided early critical funding and managerial support; known as Apple employee #3
Gustave Niebaum (1842–1908), established Inglenook Winery in Napa Valley, California, the first Bordeaux style winery in the US
Oscar Wirkkala (1880–1959), logger and inventor, developed the high lead method of logging, which revolutionized the industry; also invented important pieces of that industry's machinery used during the first half of the 20th century
Alexa Davalos (born 1982), actress, mother is of partial Finnish descent
Elyssa Davalos (born 1959), actress, father was of partial Finnish descent
Richard Davalos (1930–2016), actor; starred in East of Eden (1955) as James Dean's brother; portrayed the convict Blind Dick in Cool Hand Luke (1967); won the Theatre World Award for his performance in the Arthur Miller play A Memory of Two Mondays in 1955; fa is of Finnish descent[12]
Anna Easteden (born 1976), actress; The House of Branching Love (2009) and Sideways (2009); co-starred in soap operas Passions and Days Of Our Lives, and the series Bones
Taina Elg (born 1931), Golden Globe-winning film and stage actress[13]
Nancy Juvonen (born 1967), American-Finnish film producer; with Drew Barrymore, co-owner of production company Flower Films; produced Never been Kissed (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Donnie Darko (2002), Charlie's Angels – Full Throttle (2003); wife of comedian and talk show host Jimmy Fallon[17]
Steve Schubert (born 1951), football player, paternal grandmother was a Finnish immigrant
Vanessa Williams (born 1963), singer, actress, producer, former fashion model; first African American to be crowned Miss America; a DNA test revealed she is 12% Finnish[25]
Renée Zellweger (born 1969), actress and producer; mother of partial Finnish descent
Daphne Zuniga, actress, mother of partial Finnish descent
Military personneledit
Johannes Anderson (1887–1950), Finnish-born U.S. Army soldier during World War I; Medal of Honor recipient
Reino Hayhanen (1920–1961), U.S. spy; Soviet Lt. Colonel who defected to the U.S. during the Cold War; helped break open the Hollow Nickel Case which led to the capture of top Soviet spies in the U.S. looking for atomic secretsTimothy L. Kopra
Timothy L. Kopra (born 1963), astronaut; flew missions on the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Discovery; U.S. Army Colonel; Desert Storm veteran; Bronze Star recipient; West Point graduate
Lauri Törni (1919–1965), Finnish Army Captain who led an infantry company in Finnish Winter and Continuation Wars; moved to the United States after World War II and adopted the name Larry Thorne; served with the U.S. Army Special Forces in Vietnam War; killed in Laos while on a clandestine mission
Dale Eugene Wayrynen (1947–1967), U.S. Army enlisted soldier; recipient of the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration, for his actions in the Vietnam War
Gus Hall (1910–2000), labor organizer, a founder of the United Steelworkers of America trade union; a leader of the Communist Party USA; five-time U.S. presidential candidate[32]
Cheri Honkala (born 1963), the Green Party's nominee for vice-president in the 2012 U.S. presidential election
Emil Hurja (1892–1953), pioneer of political opinion polling; a top advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt; appeared on the cover of Time magazine in March 1936
Oscar Larson (1871–1957), U.S. Representative from Minnesota, Republican, lawyer
Dan O'Brien (born 1966), former American decathlete, deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s, winning an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 after winning three consecutive world titles
Kevin Tapani, Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs, 1989–2001
Nick Theslof, soccer player and coach; first American player to play in Europe
Tyler Varga, retired NFL running back for Indianapolis Colts; Finnish mother
Otheredit
Carrie Keranen, voice actress, production manager, producer and voice director
^Noted as one of several Finnish Americans at [12]; parents were Finnish immigrants
^. ancestry.com. May 14, 2013. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
^Described as "Finnish-American" at [13] 2006-04-21 at the Wayback Machine; father was Finnish and mother was Jewish-American
^. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)"Jaco's Grandmother on his Mom's side, Kaisa Eriika ISOJÄRVI, was born north of the Arctic Circle in Lappi, Finland, and married David Haapala from Minnesota, whose father, Andrew Haapala was from Oulu, Finland"
^. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2012-07-23. "Arthur Kylander, Finnish American Folksinger"; born in Kangasniemi, Finland
^[14] "T-Bone Slim (the itinerant Finnish-American worker from Ashtabula, Ohio, Matt Valentine Huhta)"
^Holland, Bernard (24 November 1985). "Music: Finnish Tribute". The New York Times.
^. Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
^[15] 2007-06-11 at the Wayback Machine "Although a few younger Finns held notable positions in the party leadership (e.g. Gus Hall, the party general secretary)"
^[16] 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine "JOHN MORTON was an early Finnish-American"
^. Archived from the original on 2001-06-06. Retrieved 2006-08-01.
^"Cleveland Athlete Seeks Discus Throw Honors at Los Angeles". Salt Lake Tribune. May 17, 1932. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
April 26, 2024
list, finnish, americans, following, list, finnish, americans, including, both, original, immigrants, obtained, american, citizenship, their, american, descendants, included, this, list, person, must, have, wikipedia, article, showing, they, finnish, american,. The following is a list of Finnish Americans including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants To be included in this list the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Finnish American or must have references showing they are Finnish American and are notable Contents 1 List 1 1 Academics inventors scientists 1 2 Arts and literature 1 3 Business 1 4 Film and television 1 5 Military personnel 1 6 Musicians 1 7 Dance 1 8 Politics 1 9 Sports 1 10 Other 2 ReferencesList editThis is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources See also the categories American people of Finnish descent and Finnish expatriates in the United States Academics inventors scientists edit Lars Ahlfors 1907 1996 mathematician one of the first two people to be awarded the Fields Medal Wolf Prize winner William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University Alfred Aho born 1941 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 as of 2011 he holds the Lawrence Gussman Chair of Computer Science at Columbia University He served as chair of the department from 1995 to 1997 and again in the spring of 2003 citation needed Jaakko Hintikka 1929 2015 professor of philosophy at Boston University regarded as the founder of formal epistemic logic and of game semantics for logic Bengt Robert Holmstrom born 1949 economist Nobel Laureate with Oliver Hart for their contribution to contract theory professor of economics currently Paul A Samuelson Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ruth Kaarlela 1919 2018 professor of blindness and vision studies Western Michigan University expert on rehabilitation gerontology Benjamin B Rubinstein 1905 1989 physician and psychoanalyst had a practice in New York wrote extensively on philosophy of psychoanalysis Linus Torvalds born 1969 software engineer best known for having initiated the development of the Linux kernel became a U S citizen in September 2010 1 Vaino Jack Vehko 1918 1999 automotive engineer NASA rocket scientist in 1960 became Director of Engineering on the Saturn S1 and S1B booster rocket program at Chrysler Space Division s Michoud operation in New Orleans Louisiana the Saturn boosters successfully launched all the NASA Apollo and Moon missions Carl A Wirtanen 1910 1990 astronomer 2 Arts and literature edit Jean M Auel born 1936 author wrote the Earth s Children books her books have sold 34 million copies worldwide in many translations 3 Rudy Autio 1926 2007 sculptor 4 Max Dimont 1912 1992 historian author of Jews God and History which received critical acclaim and has sold over a million and a half copies has lectured on Jewish history throughout the United States Canada South Africa Brazil and Finland author of The Indestructible Jews The Jews in America and Appointment in Jerusalem Eino Friberg 1901 1995 Protestant Minister and English translator of The Kalevala the Finnish national epic Rick Hautala 1949 2013 writer Clifton Karhu 1927 2007 artist in Japan renounced for woodblock prints of Kyoto and Kanazawa Tiina Nunnally author and translator Emil Petaja author Hannu Rajaniemi science fiction author Eero Saarinen 1910 1961 architect and product designer of the 20th century famous for his simple sweeping arching structural curves 5 Eliel Saarinen 1873 1950 architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early 20th century 6 Haddon Sundblom artist Wallace Wood comics artist EC Comics Mad Magazine Marvel Comics 7 Business edit Bill Aho born 1957 businessman who is a partner with The SagePoint Group a management consulting firm served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for Darden Restaurants and was instrumental in turning around the Red Lobster business Mary Barra CEO of General Motors Mike Markkula born 1942 entrepreneur angel investor and second CEO of Apple Computer Inc provided early critical funding and managerial support known as Apple employee 3 nbsp Marissa Mayer Marissa Mayer CEO of Yahoo and former Google executive 8 Gustave Niebaum 1842 1908 established Inglenook Winery in Napa Valley California the first Bordeaux style winery in the US Oscar Wirkkala 1880 1959 logger and inventor developed the high lead method of logging which revolutionized the industry also invented important pieces of that industry s machinery used during the first half of the 20th century Film and television edit Pamela Anderson actress father is of part Finnish ancestry 9 Richard Dean Anderson paternal grandfather came from Finland 10 Maude Apatow born 1997 actress Lucas Bryant actor Austin Butler actor Finnish on maternal side David Chokachi born 1968 actor mother is of Finnish descent 11 nbsp Matt Damon Matt Damon born 1970 award winning screenwriter and actor mother is of partial Finnish descent 11 Eric Dane born 1972 actor Alexa Davalos born 1982 actress mother is of partial Finnish descent Elyssa Davalos born 1959 actress father was of partial Finnish descent Richard Davalos 1930 2016 actor starred in East of Eden 1955 as James Dean s brother portrayed the convict Blind Dick in Cool Hand Luke 1967 won the Theatre World Award for his performance in the Arthur Miller play A Memory of Two Mondays in 1955 fa is of Finnish descent 12 Anna Easteden born 1976 actress The House of Branching Love 2009 and Sideways 2009 co starred in soap operas Passions and Days Of Our Lives and the series Bones Taina Elg born 1931 Golden Globe winning film and stage actress 13 Nathan Fillion born 1970 actor George Gaynes 1917 2016 film actor known for his role as Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy film series 14 Renny Harlin born 1959 producer and director immigrant from Finland 15 Crystal Hayes born 1984 model and actress Brian Heidik born 1968 won 1 000 000 on the Thailand edition of Survivor 16 Nancy Juvonen born 1967 American Finnish film producer with Drew Barrymore co owner of production company Flower Films produced Never been Kissed 1999 Charlie s Angels 2000 Donnie Darko 2002 Charlie s Angels Full Throttle 2003 wife of comedian and talk show host Jimmy Fallon 17 Paul Kangas host of Nightly Business Report television program 18 Vincent Kartheiser born 1979 actor known for his role in Mad Men has distant Finnish ancestry 19 Marta Kristen born 1945 perhaps best known for her role as the character Judy Robinson in the cult television series Lost in Space 20 Christine Lahti born 1950 film actress paternal grandparents were immigrants from Finland 21 Jessica Lange born 1949 two time Academy Award winning film actress maternal grandparents were of Finnish descent 22 Dick Latvala 1943 1999 tape archivist for the Grateful Dead Scott Lautanen television director and producer 11 David Lynch born 1946 director mother is of part Finnish ancestry 11 Leslie Mann born 1972 actress who has appeared in numerous films including The Cable Guy 1996 George of the Jungle 1997 Big Daddy 1999 The 40 Year Old Virgin 2005 Knocked Up 2007 17 Again 2009 Funny People 2009 This Is 40 2012 and Blockers 2018 citation needed Lisa Niemi born 1956 actress director and choreographer nbsp Marian Nixon Marian Nixon 1904 1983 actress 11 Maila Nurmi 1921 2008 creator of the well remembered 1950s character of Vampira 23 Catherine Oxenberg born 1961 actress Ethan Peck born 1986 actor Bonnie Pietila casting director and producer for The Simpsons Joyce Randolph born Joyce Sirola 1924 2024 actress best known for playing Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners Allison Rosati born 1963 journalist paternal Finnish ancestry Eric Saarinen born 1942 cinematographer son of Eero Saarinen Albert Salmi 1928 1990 film and television actor 24 Steve Schubert born 1951 football player paternal grandmother was a Finnish immigrant Vanessa Williams born 1963 singer actress producer former fashion model first African American to be crowned Miss America a DNA test revealed she is 12 Finnish 25 Marsha Garces Williams film producer and mom of Zelda Williams Zelda Williams born 1989 actress daughter of Robin Williams mother of partial Finnish descent Renee Zellweger born 1969 actress and producer mother of partial Finnish descent Daphne Zuniga actress mother of partial Finnish descent Military personnel edit Johannes Anderson 1887 1950 Finnish born U S Army soldier during World War I Medal of Honor recipient Reino Hayhanen 1920 1961 U S spy Soviet Lt Colonel who defected to the U S during the Cold War helped break open the Hollow Nickel Case which led to the capture of top Soviet spies in the U S looking for atomic secrets nbsp Timothy L Kopra Timothy L Kopra born 1963 astronaut flew missions on the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Discovery U S Army Colonel Desert Storm veteran Bronze Star recipient West Point graduate Lauri Torni 1919 1965 Finnish Army Captain who led an infantry company in Finnish Winter and Continuation Wars moved to the United States after World War II and adopted the name Larry Thorne served with the U S Army Special Forces in Vietnam War killed in Laos while on a clandestine mission Dale Eugene Wayrynen 1947 1967 U S Army enlisted soldier recipient of the Medal of Honor America s highest military decoration for his actions in the Vietnam War Carl E Vuono born 1934 retired United States Army general who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1987 to 1991 Olavi Alakulppi 1915 1990 Finnish Army Captain and recipient of the Mannerheim cross who later moved to the US enlisting in the US army and retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Musicians edit Sylvester Ahola jazz musician Muriel Anderson born 1960 guitarist and harp guitarist Carla Harvey born 1976 singer Jillian Hervey born 1989 singer and dancer Mark Hoppus born 1972 bass player in Blink 182 Jorma Kaukonen born 1940 blues folk and rock guitarist 26 Peter Kaukonen born 1945 blues folk and rock guitarist younger brother of Jorma Kaukonen David Mustaine born 1961 musician best known as the co founder vocalist lead guitarist and primary songwriter of American heavy metal band Megadeth citation needed Jaco Pastorius 1951 1987 influential jazz bassist 27 Wilho Saari Kantele musician Hiski Salomaa 1891 1957 folk singer and songwriter 28 Esa Pekka Salonen born 1958 orchestral conductor and composer Principal Conductor and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic T Bone Slim 1890 1942 humourist poet songwriter hobo and a labour activist in the Industrial Workers of the World 29 Einar Aaron Swan jazz musician David Uosikkinen born 1956 rock drummer Osmo Vanska born 1953 orchestral conductor clarinetist and composer music director of the Minnesota Orchestra Bobby Vee 1943 2016 rock singer 1960s teen idol Finnish on his mother s side Tapanila Charles Wuorinen 1938 2020 Pulitzer Prize winning composer 30 Dance edit Shura Baryshnikov born 1981 dancer and choreographer Carolyn Carlson born 1943 choreographer and performer 31 Politics edit Gregory Nevala Calvert 1937 2005 National Secretary of Students for a Democratic Society 1966 67 Gus Hall 1910 2000 labor organizer a founder of the United Steelworkers of America trade union a leader of the Communist Party USA five time U S presidential candidate 32 Cheri Honkala born 1963 the Green Party s nominee for vice president in the 2012 U S presidential election Emil Hurja 1892 1953 pioneer of political opinion polling a top advisor to President Franklin D Roosevelt appeared on the cover of Time magazine in March 1936 Oscar Larson 1871 1957 U S Representative from Minnesota Republican lawyer Marko Liias born 1981 Washington State Democratic Senator representing the 21st legislative district Former member of the Washington House of Representatives 2020 candidate for Lieutenant Governor Robert W Mattson Jr 1948 2012 Minnesota State Auditor 1975 1979 Minnesota State Treasurer 1983 1987 Robert W Mattson Sr 1924 1982 Minnesota State Attorney General 1964 1967 nbsp John Morton John Morton 1724 1777 signer of the Declaration of Independence delegate who cast the deciding vote in favor of Pennsylvania s support for United States Declaration of Independence 33 William A Niskanen chairman of the Cato Institute William Alex Stolt 1900 2001 mayor of Anchorage Alaska 1941 1944 34 Oskari Tokoi 1873 1963 Finnish politician 35 John Raymond Ylitalo 1916 1987 U S Ambassador to Paraguay career U S Foreign Service Officer Sports edit Lars Anderson wrestler Michael Anti sport shooter Randy Carlyle ice hockey player coach Dick Enberg 1935 2017 former sportscaster for the San Diego Padres CBS and ESPN Link Gaetz ice hockey player nbsp Drew Gooden Drew Gooden NBA player Finnish mother Dwight Helminen ice hockey player Lars Helminen ice hockey player Shawn Huff basketball player for the Finnish national team Finnish mother Tristan Jeskanen luger Kai Kantola ice hockey player Teemu Kivihalme ice hockey player William Kolehmainen 1887 1967 long distance runner Jeff Lahti Major League Baseball pitcher Gerald Lee basketball player for the Finnish national team Finnish mother Kristi Leskinen freestyle skier Chico Maki ice hockey player Wayne Maki ice hockey player John Michaelson only Major League Baseball player born in Finland Alex Murphy NCAA basketball player and brother of Erik Murphy Finnish mother Erik Murphy basketball player for the Finnish national team Finnish mother Matt Niskanen ice hockey player Dan O Brien born 1966 former American decathlete deemed one of the best decathlon athletes of the 1990s winning an Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 after winning three consecutive world titles Will Ohman Major League Baseball pitcher Blake Pietila ice hockey player Luke Putkonen Major League Baseball pitcher Pete Rasmus 1906 1975 discus thrower 36 Rudy Rintala 1909 1999 four sport collegiate athlete and hall of famer at Stanford University Brian Salonen football player Kevin Tapani Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets Minnesota Twins Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs 1989 2001 Nick Theslof soccer player and coach first American player to play in Europe Tyler Varga retired NFL running back for Indianapolis Colts Finnish mother Other edit Carrie Keranen voice actress production manager producer and voice director Armi Kuusela winner of the first Miss Universe beauty contest Miriam Patchen peace activist Aileen Wuornos serial killer mother is of Finnish descentReferences edit Gmane Loom thread gmane org Archived from the original on 2013 08 20 Retrieved 2018 06 01 Wirtasen vanhemmat olivat suomalaisia Wirtanen s parents were Finns 1 Finns in America 2 Finnish was his first language and he didn t learn English until 3 Finnish born U S architect 4 Eliel Saarinen Finnish 1873 1950 Steve Starger and J David Spurlock Wally s World Vanguard Productions 2006 5 Archived 2008 01 30 at the Wayback Machine Marissa Mayer visits the land of her ancestors Archived from the original on 2011 11 13 Retrieved 2011 11 10 Iltalehti www iltalehti fi June 22 2007 Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2022 03 21 Huhu joka osoittautui todeksi MacGyverilla suomalaiset sukujuuret Yle Uutiset in Finnish 22 February 2020 Retrieved 2020 02 23 a b c d e See the list of Finnish artists Archived from the original on 2006 08 11 Retrieved 2006 10 07 FINN FILM ENTERTAINMENT provided by Bravenet com www finnfilm3 bravehost com Archived from the original on 2011 07 08 Taina Elg IMDb Retrieved 2018 06 01 6 Finnish born Helsinki 7 Finnish director Renny Harlin Selviytyjat voittaja on puoliksi suomalainen Ilta Sanomat in Finnish 2003 09 22 Retrieved 2021 02 17 http www finnfilm4 bravehost com nancy juvonen html Archived 2011 10 04 at the Wayback Machine gt bare URL The Finns in America European Reading Room Library of Congress www loc gov The Truth About Vincent Kartheiser BlackBook Blackbook 20 June 2013 Retrieved 2019 09 04 Born in Norway to a German father and a Finnish mother describes herself as a Finnish Girl at 8 Finnish Americans History Modern era The first finns in america www everyculture com Retrieved 2018 06 01 Noted as one of several Finnish Americans at 9 10 notes that Lange is the granddaughter of Finnish and Dutch German migrants 11 born in Petsamo Finland Noted as one of several Finnish Americans at 12 parents were Finnish immigrants Actress Vanessa Williams Explains How DNA Powers Her Family Tree ancestry com May 14 2013 Archived from the original on April 5 2015 Retrieved August 23 2014 Described as Finnish American at 13 Archived 2006 04 21 at the Wayback Machine father was Finnish and mother was Jewish American Archived copy Archived from the original on 2009 05 22 Retrieved 2009 09 30 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Jaco s Grandmother on his Mom s side Kaisa Eriika ISOJARVI was born north of the Arctic Circle in Lappi Finland and married David Haapala from Minnesota whose father Andrew Haapala was from Oulu Finland Arthur Kylander Archived from the original on 2012 02 16 Retrieved 2012 07 23 Arthur Kylander Finnish American Folksinger born in Kangasniemi Finland 14 T Bone Slim the itinerant Finnish American worker from Ashtabula Ohio Matt Valentine Huhta Holland Bernard 24 November 1985 Music Finnish Tribute The New York Times Biennale de la Danse 2008 Archived from the original on 2009 10 07 Retrieved 2009 10 05 15 Archived 2007 06 11 at the Wayback Machine Although a few younger Finns held notable positions in the party leadership e g Gus Hall the party general secretary 16 Archived 2006 05 07 at the Wayback Machine JOHN MORTON was an early Finnish American 17 Archived 2010 01 03 at the Wayback Machine William Alex Stolt volume7 countries finland html Welcome to Bienvenue a Archived from the original on 2001 06 06 Retrieved 2006 08 01 Cleveland Athlete Seeks Discus Throw Honors at Los Angeles Salt Lake Tribune May 17 1932 Retrieved October 31 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of Finnish Americans amp oldid 1210450813, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
