Vieno Severin "Severi" Alanne (October 23, 1879 – May 26, 1960) was a

Finnish-American Finnish Americans ( fi, amerikansuomalaiset, ) comprise Americans with ancestral roots from Finland or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population numbers a little bit more than 650,000. Man ...

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

, dictionary compiler,

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

journalist, and

consumers' co-operative A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a fo ...

organizer. Alanne is best remembered as a director and publicist for the large and popular Finnish-American consumers' co-operative in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

region of the United States during the first half of the 20th century.

Biography

Early years

Vieno Severin Alanne, known to friends and family as Severi Alanne, was born in

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, on October 23, 1879. He was well educated, attending both preparatory school and a classical

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

in his native Hämeenlinna, from which he graduated in 1897."Severi Alanne," in ''Who's Who Among Finnish-Americans: A Biographical Dictionary of Persons of Finnish Descent Who Have Made Noteworthy Contributions to the Pattern of American Life.'' Fitchburg, MA: Raivaaja Publishing Co., 1949; pg. 8. After leaving the Hämeenlinna Lyceum, Alanne relocated to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

to attend the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute, from which he graduated in 1902. He remained in the field of

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

for two more years, working as an assistant to professor Gusst Komppa while continuing his post-graduate studies. Upon completion of his graduate studies in 1903, Alanne taught as a professor of electro-chemistry at the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute and as an instructor of chemistry and later department head at a vocational school in Helsinki, remaining there until 1905. An opponent of Tsarist autocracy in the

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, of which Finland was a part, Alanne joined the

Social Democratic Party of Finland The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP, fi, Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue ; sv, Finlands socialdemokratiska parti), shortened to the Social Democrats ( fi, link=no, Sosiaalidemokraatit; sv, link=no, Socialdemokrater) and commonly kno ...

''(Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue,'' SSP) in 1905. He was forced to emigrate from the country following the defeat of the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

Career

In the United States, Alanne worked for two years as the manager of a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mine in Hanna,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, and for two additional years as a research chemist for the Viscol Company of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. He later took a position as an editor of the

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

socialist daily newspaper ''

Työmies ''Työmies'' (The Worker) was a politically radical Finnish-language newspaper published primarily out of Hancock, Michigan, and Superior, Wisconsin. Launched as a weekly in July 1903, the paper later went to daily frequency and was issued und ...

'' (The Worker), located in

Hancock, Michigan Hancock is a city in Houghton County, Michigan, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton, Michigan, Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 4,634 at the 2010 United ...

. In 1919, Alanne published a major book through the Työmies Publishing House, a large and comprehensive Finnish-English translating dictionary. Alanne's work was so well-regarded that the dictionary survived to see publication a posthumous second edition, published in Finland in 1968.''Suomalais-englantilainen suursanakirja'' (Finnish-English General Dictionary). Porvoo: Werner Söderström, 1968. Alanne found his lasting professional contribution in the field of consumer cooperation, becoming director of the growing

Co-operative Central Exchange Co-operative Central Exchange (CCE, Finnish: Keskusosuuskunta), founded in 1917 and known from the spring of 1931 as Central Co-operative Wholesale, was the coordinating entity of a network of consumers' co-operatives located primarily in the state ...

(CCE) of

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

in 1920 — a position he held until 1925. At that time, Alanne moved on to fulfill a similar function for the umbrella organization of which the CCE was part, the Northern States Cooperative League, based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Alanne remained at that post until 1936, after which he returned to Superior to work in the educational department of the Central Co-operative Wholesale, the name by which the CCE was then known. His employment there finally ended in 1943 with his retirement at the age of 64.

Political career

Alanne made one run for public office, serving as the candidate of the Workers (Communist) Party for Governor of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1924.Lawrence Barish (editor in chief), et al.
"Vote for Governor in General Election, 1848-1990,"
''Wisconsin Blue Book, 1991-1992.'' Madison, WI: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 1991; pg. 720. Alanne received just under 4200 votes in the race, finishing a distant fifth out of seven candidates.

Death and legacy

Severi Alanne died May 26, 1960, in Helsinki. He was 80 years old at the time of his death.

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, September 2, 1924 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1924

Works

*
Suomalais-Englantilainen Sanakirja – Finnish-English Dictionary
' Editor. Superior, WI: Työmies, 1919. Reissued 1968 as ''Suomalais-englantilainen suursanakirja'' (Finnish-English General Dictionary). * ''Osuustoimintaopas: Käsikirja Amerikan suomalaista osuustoimintaväkeä varten'' (The Cooperators' Guide: A Handbook for Finnish-American Cooperative Members). Superior, WI: Cooperative Central Exchange, 1921. * "The Story of Co-operative Central Exchange," in ''Northern States Cooperative League Yearbook, 1925.'' Minneapolis: Northern States Cooperative League, 1925; pg. 68. * "Through the Critical Years with the Central Exchange," in ''Northern States Cooperative League Yearbook, 1928.'' Minneapolis: Northern States Cooperative League, 1928; pp. 129–137. * ''Fundamentals of Consumer Cooperation.'' Superior, WI: Cooperative Publishing Association, 1932. * ''Kuluttajaosuustoiminnan perusteet'' (Basics of Consumer Cooperation). Superior, WI: Cooperative Publishing Association, 1937. *
Manual for Co-operative Directors
' Superior, WI: Cooperative Publishing Association, 1938. * ''Englannin kielen ääntämisohjeita'' (On pronunciation of the English language). Porvoo, Finland: WSOY, 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alanne, Severi 1879 births 1960 deaths American Marxists American people of Finnish descent American socialists Massachusetts socialists Members of the Communist Party USA Members of the Socialist Party of America Michigan socialists Minnesota socialists Wyoming socialists Finnish lexicographers American lexicographers Finnish emigrants to the United States (1809–1917)