Swedishamericanhist.org
Title
Swedish-American Historical Society
Contact
- Swedish-AmericanHistoricalSociety
-
- Chicago IL
- United States 60625-4816
-
- +1.9999999999
Description
History: The Swedish-American Historical Society grew out of the national 1948 Swedish Pioneer Centennial celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Swedish immigrants in the Midwest. In Chicago, 18,000 people filled the stadium on June 4th to hear President Truman, Prince Bertil of Sweden, Carl Sandburg, and representatives from many Swedish-American organizations.
Four months later, on October 15, 1948, the leaders of the centennial celebration met in Chicago and formed the Society, originally called the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society, "established to record the achievements of the Swedish Pioneers."
In 1983, the Board of Directors approved a change in the organization's name to The Swedish-American Historical Society. By then it had moved well beyond a focus on just the "pioneer" period and serves to promote interest in the entire Swedish presence in America, from the first settlers on the Delaware in 1638 to the present day.
