List of Estonian Americans

This is a list of notable Estonian-Americans, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Estonian American or must have references showing they are Estonian American and are notable.

Arts and literature

• Alar Kivilo (born 1953) — member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,[1] cinematographer[2]
• Lisa Kivirist (born 1967) — author
• Kristjan Järvi (born 1972) — symphony conductor[3]
• Neeme Järvi (born 1937) — symphony conductor. Moved to the US in 1981
• Paavo Järvi (born 1962) — current Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra[4]
• Tõnu Kalam (born 1948) — pianist and symphony conductor[5]
• Mark Kostabi (born 1960) — artist[6][7]
• Paul Kostabi (born 1962) — artist, music producer[8]
• Louis Kahn (1901–1974) — architect, designer of the Salk Institute, Kimbell Art Museum, and others[9]
• Ilse Lehiste (1922–2010) — linguist and author
• Alexander Nelke (1894–1974) — artist
• Dennis Nurkse (born 1949) — poet
• Raymond Pettibon (born 1957) — artist, designer of the iconic Black Flag (band) bars[10]
• Bill Rebane (born 1937) — film director[11]
• Ene Riisna (born 1938) — television producer
• Jerry Saltz (Estonian father) (born 1951) — art critic[12]
• Helen Tobias-Duesberg (1919–2010) — composer[13]
• Priit Vesilind (born 1943) — author, photojournalist[14]
• Kiino Villand (born 1969) — photographer
• Arthur Võõbus (1909–1988) — theologian, orientalist and church historian

Science

• Nicole Aunapu Mann (born 1977) — astronaut and test pilot
• Matti Kaups, Ph.D — professor of geography at the University of Minnesota-Duluth[15]
• August Komendant (1906–1992) — Professor of Architecture at University of Pennsylvania (1959–74),[16] Structural Engineer for Louis Kahn[17]
• Pearn P. Niiler (1937–2010) — oceanographer
• Toivo U. Raun, Ph.D — Historian[18][19] the author of Estonia and the Estonians[20]
• Jaak Panksepp (born 1943) — neuroscientist and psychobiologist[21]
• Hillar Rootare (1928–2008) — physical chemist
• Mare Taagepera Ph.D (1938–2013) — Senior Lecturer Emeritus, Chemistry School of Physical Sciences, University of California, Irvine,[22] University of Tartu Estonia.[23] Honorary Member of the Estonian Chemical Society[24]
• Rein Taagepera Ph.D (born 1933) — Research Professor, Political science, University of California, Irvine; Professor Emeritus, University of Tartu, Estonia[25][26]
• Alar Toomre (born 1937), Jüri Toomre — astronomers and mathematicians[27][28]
• Karen Uhlenbeck (born 1942) — mathematician and founder of geometric analysis
• Lauri Vaska (1925–2015) — chemist[29]

Entertainment

• Erika Eleniak (born 1969) — Playboy Playmate and actress
• Greg Ginn (born 1954) — guitarist of Black Flag[30]
• Miliza Korjus (1905–1980) — coloratura soprano opera singer
• Karolyn Nelke (born 1948) — stage actress
• Marya Roxx (born 1986) — singer-songwriter
• Mena Suvari (born 1979) — actress (Estonian father)
• Johann Urb (born 1972) — actor and former model

Sports

• Warren Cummings Smith (born 1991) — alpine skier
• Jaan Ehlvest (born 1962) — chess player[31]
• Margus Hunt (born 1987) — football player[32]
• Chris Jogis (born 1965) — badminton player
• Ingrid Neel (born 1998) — tennis player
• Michael Roos (born 1982) — football player[33]
• John Roosma (1900–1983) — basketball player
• Sven Salumaa (born 1966) — tennis player
• Arnold Skaaland (1925–2007) — wrestler
• Ralph Tamm (born 1966) — football player

Business

• Elisabeth Murdoch (born 1968) — businesswoman
• James Murdoch (born 1972) — businessman
• Steve Jurvetson (born 1967) — Draper Fisher Jurvetson businessman[34]

Politics

• Michael Josselson (1908–1978) — the secretary general for the Congress for Cultural Freedom[35][36]
• Jaan Laaman (born 1948) — leftist extremist[37]
• Samuel H. Shapiro (1907–1987) — governor of Illinois.
• Edmund S. Valtman (1914–2005) — political cartoonist[38]
• Melissa F. Wells (born 1932) — diplomat and former ambassador

Military

• Aleksander Einseln (1931–2017) — former Commander-in-chief of the Estonian army (dual U.S. and Estonian citizenship)[39]
• Tiiu Kera (born 1945) — retired United States Air Force (USAF) major general[40]
• Edward Masso — retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and ambassador to Estonia

References

1. Alar Kivilo @ MPAS Archived 2007-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
2. Estonian: Alar Kivilo interview at postimees.ee
3. "...under the rising 38-year-old Estonian-American conductor Kristjan Järvi..."
4. "The Estonian-American conductor, Paavo Järvi..."
6. "The most well-known of Estonian/American artists is the infamous Mark Kostabi..."
7. Eastern Europe By Richard C. Frucht -Page 93 ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6 born to Estonian exiles in California
8. "The complete list is: Peeter Kolk, Dianne Bowen, Külliki Talp, Ilse Leetaru, Mark Kostabi, Paul Indrek Kostabi..."
9. "As the great Estonian-American architect wrote..."
10. "Pettibon's mother was an Estonian, who fled to the United States during World War II ..."
11. "I still spoke with a strong European accent as I had immigrated to the United States only 10 years earlier as an Estonian refugee via Germany and was experiencing, in reality and the real sense of the word, "the American Dream.”"
12. "Jerry Saltz and the Future of the Critic-Artist | artnet News". artnet News. 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
13. "But in the last years of her life spent in Savannah, the Estonian-American composer came around to see things differently."
14. "Mai sought out an old Geislingen playmate, Estonian-American Priit Vesilind..."
15. "TLÜAR väliseesti isikud". isik.tlulib.ee. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
16. University of Pennsylvania School of Design Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
17. Integrated Buildings By Leonard R. Bachman; p. 91 ISBN 978-0-471-46774-8 "Louis Kahn's engineer and fellow Estonian..."
18. Toivo U. Raun @ Indiana University Archived 2007-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
19. Toivo Raun, an Estonian-American historian @ BAFSA
20. Estonia and the Estonians By Toivo U. Raun ISBN 0-8179-9131-X
21. Panksepp, J (1992). "A critical role for "affective neuroscience" in resolving what is basic about basic emotions". Psychological Review. 99 (3): 554–60. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.99.3.554. PMID 1502276.
22. Who's Who in Sciences Academia
23. Estonian: Mare Taagepera @ ut.ee
24. Mare Taagepera @ the Estonian Chemical Society Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
25. Rein Taagepera @ University of California, Irvine
26. "According to leading Estonian-American political scientist Rein Taagepera..."
27. Remarkable Estonian astronomers @ Tartu Space observatory
28. Alar Toomre @ Encyclopædia Britannica
29. "Estonian/American chemist"
30. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine"...his mother was an immigrant from Estonia."
31. Ehlvest, Jaan (2004). The Story of a Chess Player. Arbiter Publishing. ISBN 0-9763891-0-X.
32. "Hunt got drafted to NFL in 2013."
33. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2006-05-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Roos is believed to be the first Estonian native to play in the NFL..."
34. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2006-05-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Steve Jurvetson, the 34-year-old Silicon Valley venture capitalist extraordinaire, and second-generation Estonian American..."
35. JSTOR ...Michael Josselson, himself of Estonian origins
36. Powers, Richard. Not Without Honor. Yale University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-300-07470-3. naturalized American of Jewish-Estonian background
37. "Jaan Laaman grew up in Roxbury and Buffalo NY. Hisfamily emigrated to the U.S. from Estonia when he was a child."
38. The Estonians in America, 1627-1975: a chronology & fact book
39. Center For Immigration Studies: Dual Citizenship and American National Identity. Renshon, Stanley A.
40. Astbury Methodist Village Retrieved 27 April 2017.

External links

• Estonian American National Council
• Estonian Americans