Nordic Americans have constituted a long-running ethnic presence in New York City since its very founding.

Danes

The first

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

in New York were sailors in the crew of Henry Hudson’s ship the Halve Maen, which sailed into New York Harbor in 1609. Among the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

settlers in New York was

Jonas Bronck Jonas Bronck (alternatively Jonas Jonsson Brunk, Jonas Jonasson Bronk, or Jonas Jonassen Bronck) was born around year 1600 and died in 1643. Bronck was an immigrant to the Dutch colony of New Netherland after whom the Bronx River, and by extension ...

, who in 1629 bought a large tract of land north of Manhattan. The Bronk surname might be the etymological origin behind the Bronx. In 1675 lived at least 100 Danes in New York. In 1704 the Danes together with the Norwegians build a small Lutheran chapel near the intersection of Broadway and Rector Street. Danish immigration reached its peak between 1850 and 1900 were most Danes only passed through the city to get elsewhere in the United States. Most Danish immigrants were Lutheran but many married outside their religious and ethnic group. The health insurance organization for Scandinavian immigrants, Dania, opened a branch in Brooklyn in 1886. From 1891 to 1953 a Danish language newspaper, Nordlyset(The Northern Light) was published. In 1930 there were around 200.000 people of Danish descent. The best-known Dane from New York is

Jacob A. Riis Jacob August Riis ( ; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, "muckraking" journalist and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in America at the turn of the twen ...

, a photographer and writer, who wrote the book How the Other Half Lives which exposed the poor living conditions in the slums of New York. He was called “New York’s most useful citizen” by

President Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and his work led to new reforms and regulations. Another famous Dane is actress Scarlett Johansson, who is the daughter of a Danish immigrant from Copenhagen.

Finns

Before the nineteenth most of the Finns in New York were sailors. Because of that the Finnish Seamen’s Mission was founded in 1887 by Emil Panelius, which was the first Finnish religious organization in the city. In the 1900 census the city had about 10.000 people of Finnish descent. A Finnish language newspaper, New Yorkin Uutiset(New York News), was published from 1906 to 1996. In 1930 the number of people with Finnish descent reached a bit over 20.000. In 2010 there lived 3000 Finns in the New York City metropolitan area.

Norwegians

The first Norwegians immigrated to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

during the seventeenth century. One of the immigrants was Anneken Henriksen who married Jan Arentzen van der Bilt a forebear of the Vanderbilt family. The booming maritime industry attracted Norwegians to the city to work with the industry. In 1869 there lived about 6000 Norwegians in New York with most living in Brooklyn. In 1940 there were about 55.000 first and second generation Norwegians in New York. In 1990 the Norwegian population in the city had fallen to about 10.000 and in 2007 more than 20.000 claimed to be of Norwegian descent. One of the best known Norwegian from New York is

Thor Solberg Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, a ...

, a pioneer in aviator, who was the first person to fly solo from the United States to Norway in 1935.

Swedes

One of the first Swedes in New York was Mons Pieterson, a Swedish speaking Finn, who together with other Swedish immigrants helped clear out Harlem, which was cleared by 1661. By 1835 there were about 100 Swedes in New York. The first Swedish language newspaper, Skandinaven, was published from 1851 to 1853. In the mid-nineteenth century many Swedish emigrated to the United States because of land shortages and compulsory military service. Many immigrants only passed through the City to get to elsewhere in the United States. By 1870 the Swedish population was around 3000. In 1900 there were around 28.000 Swedes in New York with about 15.000 in Brooklyn and about 11.000 in Manhattan. In 1930 there were 37,200 Swedish immigrants and 24,500 non immigrants of Swedish descent in the city. As the economy improved in Sweden fewer immigrants arrived and by 1980 there were about 3000 Swedish immigrants in New York. In 1996 the Swedish consulate in New York began sponsoring the Swedish Midsummer Celebration in Battery Park.

References

{{Swedish diaspora

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

European-American culture in New York City