Croatian-American
Encyclopedia
Croatian Americans are citizens of the United States
of Croatian
descent.
According to the United States Census Bureau of Statistics (1990) there were over 544,270 Croatian Americans who identify themselves as being of Croatian descent or being born in Croatia.
In addition to that, many Americans who identify themselves as Slavs, Dalmatia
ns, Yugoslavs
, Bosnians
, Austrians
, or Austro-Hungarians are of Croatian heritage.
The states with the largest Croatian-American populations are:
n coastal regions) arrived to the United States some two or three hundred years ago. At least two theories of a pre-Columbian contact by Dalmatian sailors have appeared within the last 30 years or so.
But significant emigration from the region of Croatia can be said to date from the late 1890s and early 1900s, peaking around 1910, when many Croatians, the majority of them Roman Catholics, began emigrating to the United States. Many were economic
immigrants, while others considered themselves political refugees
.
Like other immigrants
of that period, they migrated to find employment
. Many of them, mostly single young men but, often, married men with or without their families, settled in small towns in Pennsylvania and New York as coal miners or steelworkers. Many also settled in factory towns and farming areas in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. For most of the single men, the stay was only temporary. Once they had saved enough money, many Croatian men returned to Croatia. However, those who did choose to stay found permanent homes where they had found jobs and sent for their families.
Within a comparatively short period of time, Croatians could be found all over the United States from New York to California, from New Orleans to Minneapolis-St. Paul. As it went through its most rapid expansion during the time of the 1890-1914 Great Migration and shortly thereafter from the onset of the First World War to the general clampdown on immigration in 1924, Croats and other South and West Slavs and members of other groups peaking in influx at the time were prominent in the history of the mining industry in the Iron Range
of Minnesota; much the same is the case with the forestry-related industries there, elsewhere in Minnesota and in much of Wisconsin. A notable Croatian-American from the Iron Range was the late Dr Rudy Perpich
, the 34th and 36th Governor of the state representing the Democrat/Farmer-Labor Party; he served terms in office from 29 December 1976 to 4 January 1979, and from 3 January 1983 to 7 January 1991, spans of time which add up to make him the longest-serving governor in the state's history. In private life, Dr Perpich was a dentist and after leaving office in 1991 assisted the post-Communist government of Croatia He was born in Carson Lake, Minnesota (now part of Hibbing) on 27 June 1928 and died of cancer in Minnetonka on 21 September 1995.
A new wave of Croatian immigrants began to arrive after World War II. These were mostly political refugees, including orphans whose parents had been killed during the war, individuals and families fleeing Yugoslavia's Communist
regime
. Most of these Croatians settled in established Croatian colonies
, often among relatives and friends.
It was assumed that this would be the end of Croatian immigration. But, beginning in 1965, America saw a new influx of Croatians, some of them political refugees, most of them younger families seeking economic security and a prosperity impossible to find in Yugoslavia.
Those arriving in the 1960s and the decades that followed settled mostly in larger cities. These immigrants were better educated and more liberal than their forebears in America, but they were also influenced by the new European standard of life and opposed to the Communist ideology forcefully imposed upon them in the totalitarian state of Yugoslavia.
They sought "the good life"-a decent job, a balanced education for their children, good housing and utilities, the ability to be vocal in their political views in democratic America, and the freedom to live out their deeply rooted religious convictions.
Gradually, this new wave of immigrants joined Croatian Catholic parishes and organizations, and soon became the contemporary bearers of Croatian culture and tradition in the United States.
Currently, only a small number of Croatians continue to emigrate, mostly those who have relatives already well established in America.
, Cleveland, New York City and Los Angeles, with mid-sized communities in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and the San Francisco Bay Area
, and smaller communities in Sacramento
, Detroit, Kansas City
, Milwaukee and Harrisburg. The Ohio Valley has one of the largest concentrations of Croatian-Americans today. The first Croatian settlements were in Mississippi
estuary in Louisiana
and in California
. First Croatian immigrants to those places were sailors who left their ships out of economic reasons and also because of the news and rumors about war in Europe, various contagious diseases on ships, bad conditions of the ships, etc. There was already a considerably large group of them in 1835 that easily assimilated and started working in the fields of commerce
and catering
industry. These men usually married American women, which greatly contributed to their fast and easy assimilation.
From the middle of the 19th century a lot of Croats were involved in the oyster
business. Luka Jurisic was a pioneer
in establishing the large-scale cultivation and marketing of oysters. By the late 19th century the Croats controlled the oyster business. In San Pedro
there is even a stretch of street called "Croatian Place". There are reportedly more than(today) 35,000 Croats in San Pedro, making it the biggest Croatian community on the Pacific. California had Croatian immigration colonies even before the wave of new immigration, but even greater immigration occurred during the period of gold rush
in that area. Many of them established stock
corporation
s in case they made more significant discoveries.
One of the most important companies established by the Croats was "The Slavonian Gold and Silver Company". San Francisco became the center of Croatian social life in California, where they established the first Croatian emigration society in 1857. Tadich Grill
in San Francisco is a relic from that era and (still Croatian owned) currently is the oldest restaurant in the entire state of California.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
was a major destination for the post-1980's Yugoslavia
n immigration, including Croats and Bosnian Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina
escaped the Bosnian civil war in the 1990's. They formed several communities in Orange County
; San Diego
; the Inland Empire (California)
region (i.e. Moreno Valley); and the San Fernando Valley
of Los Angeles
, but extending into the High Desert suburbs of Lancaster
and Palmdale
; and Ventura County
in recent years.
A great number of Croats emigrated from California and settled in Arizona
and Nevada
after the gold rush. In Nevada Croats first worked in gold and silver mines
, and later became engaged in service trades. In Arizona they usually worked as coalminers, office-workers, storekeepers, cooks, butchers, waiters, restaurant or hotel owners, etc. There were several Croatian settlements in Washington. A small Croatian fishing village existed back in the beginning of 19th century, where greatly experienced Croatian fishermen contributed to the development of modern fishing trade. Three main Croatian centers in Washington were Seattle, Anacortes and Roslyn
. The high percentage of Croats can be illustrated by the fact that inn 1922/23 there were 23% Croatian pupils in Rosalyn schools. Some of the first groups of immigrants settled in Pennsylvania
as well. As the center of the State, Pittsburgh employed a lot of immigrants from Croatia. Many of them were working in the heavy industry
. In the beginning of the century there were around 38 000 Croatians in Pittsburgh. It was estimated that there were more than 200 000 Croatians and their descendants living in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s.
First Croatians in Detroit appeared around 1890, settling usually in the region of Russel. In Illinois
the Croatians started concentrating mostly around Chicago. Although it was created a bit later, the Croatian settlement in Chicago became one of the most important ones in the United States. The settlement especially started developing after World War I and Chicago became the center of all Croatian cultural and political activities. It is calculated that there were roughly 50 000 Croats in Chicago in the 1990s, while there were altogether 100 000 Croats living in 54 additional Croatian settlements in Illinois.
Furthermore, Croatian settlement in Kansas City
played an important role as well. This settlement, too, was founded in the last decades of the 19th century, with the first neighborhood west of Armour Packing Co. and along James Street. The Strawberry Hill
neighbourhood of Kansas City is an example of a city quarter almost entirely founded by Croats. First Croatian Settlement in St. Louis started forming very early. It generally consisted of immigrants who came from Louisiana along the Mississippi toward the north. According to Ante Tresic-Pavic, who visited the US in 1907, there were around 4-5 thousand Croats in St. Louis. The majority of them lived in boarding house
s and had low paid jobs at that time.
New York served merely as a station on their way further into the United States. Later, during the mass immigration of Croats, this city became the most important center from which they moved into various parts of the US. In 1906 a real Croatian settlement did not yet exist in New York. Eventually many Croats settled thru out parts of New York City, especially in northwestern and northeastern Queens
County, in such neighborhoods as Whitestone
, Astoria
, Bayside
and Douglaston.
Alaska
appeared to be a destination for Croatian immigrants in the early 20th century starting with the Klondike Gold Rush
of 1897-99. A few hundreds of Croatians settled in Anchorage, Fairbanks
and Sitka. They established small shops and businesses relating to the local fishing industries. Today, Alaska may be home to 50,000 persons of Croatian descent, about one-eighth of the state population.
s, mostly diocesan clergy, came in precious few numbers with the earliest immigrants towards the end of the 19 century. They were true missionaries
. They traveled from place to place wherever their people settled, preaching parish
missions and organizing religious
, cultural
, and benevolent
societies. Often the priest was the only educated member of the Croatian colony, and thus they had to assume leadership
roles; moreover, they were among the first to learn English well and often served as translators and interpreters. Their primary responsibility, however, was the organization of Croatian Catholic parishes in the urban centers with substantial Croatian populations. Thus, at the beginning of this century there were Croatian churches in Pittsburgh and Steelton
, Pennsylvania
, New York, Chicago, Cleveland and other cities. The oldest parish is St. Nicholas Church in Pittsburgh, founded in 1894; several others were erected in the early 1900s, such as the Church of the Nativity
in San Francisco. Even before being officially established in 1926, the Croatian Franciscan friar
s traveled throughout the United States, establishing and assisting in Croatian parishes and keeping alive the religious and national sentiments of their people.Croatian Roman Catholics in America form a vital part of the American Catholic Church. This is due in large measure to the pioneering and ongoing efforts of their priests and sisters, whose witness has enabled the Croatian immigrant community and their children and grandchildren born in the United States to remain faithful to their Catholicism and their Croatian roots. Today there are altogether 32 Croatian parishes and 3 missions in the US.
. Another special type of gathering was happening around tamburica, which was often among the necessary items that a person from Croatia took to America. Tamburica and Singing clubs were not joined until March 1949 in Cleveland, where the "American-Croatian Singing Association" was founded. Croatian Americans had strong feelings about their homeland
and they frequently demonstrated them publicly.
is a society with long roots in the USA. It was started in 1897. During World War II, it sent money to aid Croatia. The CFU contributes to Croatian Americans by scholarships and cultural learning.
The Croatian American Association is a group which lobbies the United States Congress
on issues related to Croatia.
The Croatian American Network is a popular Facebook Group for communication and networking.
(Bijeli Hrvati) which emigrated to United States. The group was concentrated around Krakow
and mostly emigrated due to Nazi
and later Stalinist
oppression in Poland. It is interesting to add that according to American documents, from the beginning of this century, there were about 100,000 immigrants to the USA born around Krakow (Poland) who declared themselves to be Bielo-Chorvats, i.e. White Croats by nationality.
Well-known Croatian-Americans past and present include Democratic politicians Mark Begich
and Dennis Kucinich
, Republican politicians George Radanovich
and John Kasich
, Republican political consultant Mary Matalin
, Louis Cukela
United States Marine
numbered among the nineteen two-time recipients of the Medal of Honor
, John J. Tominac
also Medal of Honor recipient, game show host Gene Rayburn
, professional basketball
players George Mikan
and Rudy Tomjanovich
, professional baseball player Roger Maris
, actors John Malkovich
, Jenna Elfman
, Elfman's uncle and lead singer of vocal group The Lettermen Tony Butala
, bassist of Nirvana
Krist Novoselic
, oil industry pioneer Anthony Francis Lucas
, inventor and modern fishing industry pioneer Mario Puratić
, mathematician William Feller
, winemaker Mike Grgich
, film critic Lou Lumenick
and Franjo Vlasic, founder and namesake of Vlasic Pickles, Ed Kobak, Jr., sports reference book author and publisher, John Owen Dominis
, Prince Consort of Hawaii, Ron Kovic
, anti-war activist, John Mayasich
, hockey player, Judah Friedlander
, actor and comedian, professional football coaches Nick Saban
and Bill Belichick
, Denny "Sharkey" Mihalinec A well known Community Activist & Honorary Mayor in Trilby Florida.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
descent.
Numbers
According to the 2007 US Community Survey, there are 420,763 Americans of full or partial Croatian descent.According to the United States Census Bureau of Statistics (1990) there were over 544,270 Croatian Americans who identify themselves as being of Croatian descent or being born in Croatia.
In addition to that, many Americans who identify themselves as Slavs, Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
ns, Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
, Bosnians
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
, Austrians
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
, or Austro-Hungarians are of Croatian heritage.
The states with the largest Croatian-American populations are:
| Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... |
50,350 | Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... |
43,613 | Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
41,812 | California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
39,071 | New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... |
23,650 | Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... |
16,202 | Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... |
8,941 | Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is... |
8,433 |
History
- 1880 estimate: 20,000
- 1980 census: 252,970
- 1990 census: 544,270
- 2000 census: 374,241
- 2004 community survey: 401,208
History
It is very difficult to establish when the first Croatian people came to the United States. Some written documents indicate that individuals or small groups of Croatians (notably seafarers from the DalmatiaDalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n coastal regions) arrived to the United States some two or three hundred years ago. At least two theories of a pre-Columbian contact by Dalmatian sailors have appeared within the last 30 years or so.
But significant emigration from the region of Croatia can be said to date from the late 1890s and early 1900s, peaking around 1910, when many Croatians, the majority of them Roman Catholics, began emigrating to the United States. Many were economic
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
immigrants, while others considered themselves political refugees
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
.
Like other immigrants
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
of that period, they migrated to find employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
. Many of them, mostly single young men but, often, married men with or without their families, settled in small towns in Pennsylvania and New York as coal miners or steelworkers. Many also settled in factory towns and farming areas in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. For most of the single men, the stay was only temporary. Once they had saved enough money, many Croatian men returned to Croatia. However, those who did choose to stay found permanent homes where they had found jobs and sent for their families.
Within a comparatively short period of time, Croatians could be found all over the United States from New York to California, from New Orleans to Minneapolis-St. Paul. As it went through its most rapid expansion during the time of the 1890-1914 Great Migration and shortly thereafter from the onset of the First World War to the general clampdown on immigration in 1924, Croats and other South and West Slavs and members of other groups peaking in influx at the time were prominent in the history of the mining industry in the Iron Range
Iron Range
The Iron Range is a region that makes up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore...
of Minnesota; much the same is the case with the forestry-related industries there, elsewhere in Minnesota and in much of Wisconsin. A notable Croatian-American from the Iron Range was the late Dr Rudy Perpich
Rudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...
, the 34th and 36th Governor of the state representing the Democrat/Farmer-Labor Party; he served terms in office from 29 December 1976 to 4 January 1979, and from 3 January 1983 to 7 January 1991, spans of time which add up to make him the longest-serving governor in the state's history. In private life, Dr Perpich was a dentist and after leaving office in 1991 assisted the post-Communist government of Croatia He was born in Carson Lake, Minnesota (now part of Hibbing) on 27 June 1928 and died of cancer in Minnetonka on 21 September 1995.
A new wave of Croatian immigrants began to arrive after World War II. These were mostly political refugees, including orphans whose parents had been killed during the war, individuals and families fleeing Yugoslavia's Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
. Most of these Croatians settled in established Croatian colonies
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
, often among relatives and friends.
It was assumed that this would be the end of Croatian immigration. But, beginning in 1965, America saw a new influx of Croatians, some of them political refugees, most of them younger families seeking economic security and a prosperity impossible to find in Yugoslavia.
Those arriving in the 1960s and the decades that followed settled mostly in larger cities. These immigrants were better educated and more liberal than their forebears in America, but they were also influenced by the new European standard of life and opposed to the Communist ideology forcefully imposed upon them in the totalitarian state of Yugoslavia.
They sought "the good life"-a decent job, a balanced education for their children, good housing and utilities, the ability to be vocal in their political views in democratic America, and the freedom to live out their deeply rooted religious convictions.
Gradually, this new wave of immigrants joined Croatian Catholic parishes and organizations, and soon became the contemporary bearers of Croatian culture and tradition in the United States.
Currently, only a small number of Croatians continue to emigrate, mostly those who have relatives already well established in America.
Settlements
Large populations are found in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Cleveland, New York City and Los Angeles, with mid-sized communities in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, and smaller communities in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, Detroit, Kansas City
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
, Milwaukee and Harrisburg. The Ohio Valley has one of the largest concentrations of Croatian-Americans today. The first Croatian settlements were in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
estuary in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. First Croatian immigrants to those places were sailors who left their ships out of economic reasons and also because of the news and rumors about war in Europe, various contagious diseases on ships, bad conditions of the ships, etc. There was already a considerably large group of them in 1835 that easily assimilated and started working in the fields of commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
industry. These men usually married American women, which greatly contributed to their fast and easy assimilation.
From the middle of the 19th century a lot of Croats were involved in the oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
business. Luka Jurisic was a pioneer
Innovator
An innovator in a general sense, is a person or an organization who is one of the first to introduce into reality something better than before. That often opens up a new area for others and achieves an innovation.-History:...
in establishing the large-scale cultivation and marketing of oysters. By the late 19th century the Croats controlled the oyster business. In San Pedro
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
there is even a stretch of street called "Croatian Place". There are reportedly more than(today) 35,000 Croats in San Pedro, making it the biggest Croatian community on the Pacific. California had Croatian immigration colonies even before the wave of new immigration, but even greater immigration occurred during the period of gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
in that area. Many of them established stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s in case they made more significant discoveries.
One of the most important companies established by the Croats was "The Slavonian Gold and Silver Company". San Francisco became the center of Croatian social life in California, where they established the first Croatian emigration society in 1857. Tadich Grill
Tadich Grill
The Tadich Grill is a seafood restaurant located in the Financial District neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the oldest continuously running restaurant in San Francisco, having opened in 1849 as a coffee stand...
in San Francisco is a relic from that era and (still Croatian owned) currently is the oldest restaurant in the entire state of California.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
The Los Angeles metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan Los Angeles or the Southland, is the 13th largest metropolitan area in the world and the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States....
was a major destination for the post-1980's Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n immigration, including Croats and Bosnian Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
escaped the Bosnian civil war in the 1990's. They formed several communities in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
; San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
; the Inland Empire (California)
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
region (i.e. Moreno Valley); and the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, but extending into the High Desert suburbs of Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
and Palmdale
Palmdale, California
Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...
; and Ventura County
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
in recent years.
A great number of Croats emigrated from California and settled in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
after the gold rush. In Nevada Croats first worked in gold and silver mines
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, and later became engaged in service trades. In Arizona they usually worked as coalminers, office-workers, storekeepers, cooks, butchers, waiters, restaurant or hotel owners, etc. There were several Croatian settlements in Washington. A small Croatian fishing village existed back in the beginning of 19th century, where greatly experienced Croatian fishermen contributed to the development of modern fishing trade. Three main Croatian centers in Washington were Seattle, Anacortes and Roslyn
Roslyn, Washington
Roslyn is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 893 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Roslyn is located at...
. The high percentage of Croats can be illustrated by the fact that inn 1922/23 there were 23% Croatian pupils in Rosalyn schools. Some of the first groups of immigrants settled in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
as well. As the center of the State, Pittsburgh employed a lot of immigrants from Croatia. Many of them were working in the heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
. In the beginning of the century there were around 38 000 Croatians in Pittsburgh. It was estimated that there were more than 200 000 Croatians and their descendants living in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s.
First Croatians in Detroit appeared around 1890, settling usually in the region of Russel. In Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
the Croatians started concentrating mostly around Chicago. Although it was created a bit later, the Croatian settlement in Chicago became one of the most important ones in the United States. The settlement especially started developing after World War I and Chicago became the center of all Croatian cultural and political activities. It is calculated that there were roughly 50 000 Croats in Chicago in the 1990s, while there were altogether 100 000 Croats living in 54 additional Croatian settlements in Illinois.
Furthermore, Croatian settlement in Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
played an important role as well. This settlement, too, was founded in the last decades of the 19th century, with the first neighborhood west of Armour Packing Co. and along James Street. The Strawberry Hill
Strawberry Hill (Kansas City, Kansas)
Strawberry Hill is a Kansas City, Kansas neighborhood on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. It is now a mainly South Slavic community....
neighbourhood of Kansas City is an example of a city quarter almost entirely founded by Croats. First Croatian Settlement in St. Louis started forming very early. It generally consisted of immigrants who came from Louisiana along the Mississippi toward the north. According to Ante Tresic-Pavic, who visited the US in 1907, there were around 4-5 thousand Croats in St. Louis. The majority of them lived in boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
s and had low paid jobs at that time.
New York served merely as a station on their way further into the United States. Later, during the mass immigration of Croats, this city became the most important center from which they moved into various parts of the US. In 1906 a real Croatian settlement did not yet exist in New York. Eventually many Croats settled thru out parts of New York City, especially in northwestern and northeastern Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
County, in such neighborhoods as Whitestone
Whitestone, Queens
Whitestone is a residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the City of New York borough of Queens. Located between the East River to the north and 25th Avenue to the south. Whitestone is surrounded by College Point, Flushing, Bayside, Auburndale, Linden Hill, and Murray Hill...
, Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
, Bayside
Bayside, Queens
Bayside is a suburban neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York, New York in the United States. Bayside is known as one of the most expensive areas to live in Queens, with well kept homes and landscaping...
and Douglaston.
Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
appeared to be a destination for Croatian immigrants in the early 20th century starting with the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
of 1897-99. A few hundreds of Croatians settled in Anchorage, Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
and Sitka. They established small shops and businesses relating to the local fishing industries. Today, Alaska may be home to 50,000 persons of Croatian descent, about one-eighth of the state population.
Religion
Croatian priestPriest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s, mostly diocesan clergy, came in precious few numbers with the earliest immigrants towards the end of the 19 century. They were true missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. They traveled from place to place wherever their people settled, preaching parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
missions and organizing religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and benevolent
Benevolence
Benevolence means an act of, or a general inclination towards, charity."Benevolence" may also refer to:* Benevolence , a faculty in the discredited theory of Phrenology* USS Benevolence , a Haven class hospital ship-See also:...
societies. Often the priest was the only educated member of the Croatian colony, and thus they had to assume leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
roles; moreover, they were among the first to learn English well and often served as translators and interpreters. Their primary responsibility, however, was the organization of Croatian Catholic parishes in the urban centers with substantial Croatian populations. Thus, at the beginning of this century there were Croatian churches in Pittsburgh and Steelton
Steelton, Pennsylvania
Steelton is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, three miles southeast of Harrisburg. In 1900, 12,086 people lived here; in 1910, 14,246 people lived here; in 1920, 13,248 people lived here; and in 1940, 13,115 people lived here. The population was 5,858 at the 2000 census...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New York, Chicago, Cleveland and other cities. The oldest parish is St. Nicholas Church in Pittsburgh, founded in 1894; several others were erected in the early 1900s, such as the Church of the Nativity
Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth, and thus it is considered sacred by Christians...
in San Francisco. Even before being officially established in 1926, the Croatian Franciscan friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s traveled throughout the United States, establishing and assisting in Croatian parishes and keeping alive the religious and national sentiments of their people.Croatian Roman Catholics in America form a vital part of the American Catholic Church. This is due in large measure to the pioneering and ongoing efforts of their priests and sisters, whose witness has enabled the Croatian immigrant community and their children and grandchildren born in the United States to remain faithful to their Catholicism and their Croatian roots. Today there are altogether 32 Croatian parishes and 3 missions in the US.
Social association
Croatian Americans have been closely connected to one another almost since the day they left their home country. Chain migration contributed to the creation of settlements of Croats coming from the same regions of Croatia. They were connected because of their similar occupations that they had, equal social status, catholic religion and many other bonds that are sometimes much stronger than formal organization. The most popular informal meeting points of Croatians were the saloons. They were usually engaged in various charity organizations, and were among the first Croatian immigrants who learned to speak English. A great number of them had a very harsh daily routine, which largely appeared to be bed-factory-bed. But the positive side of the saloons cannot be denied. Beside these informal gatherings, Croatian Americans established several thousand organizations of different importance. In his work, "Early Croatian Immigration to America After 1945", George Prpic states that there were around 3 000 organizations founded between 1880 and 1940 in the United States. Croatians first started founding charitable, cultural, educational, religious, business, political, sporting or athletic organizations. All these organizations were firmly rooted in the settlement where they were initiated. Croatians were a minority group both in relation to Americans and other nationalities. Furthermore, the Croats came with the latest groups of immigrants, which lead to a further feeling of insecurity. Moreover, most of them did not speak English and had low paid jobs, which created an inferiority complex as well. Therefore, they found security within an organization of their own ethnic groupEthnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
. Another special type of gathering was happening around tamburica, which was often among the necessary items that a person from Croatia took to America. Tamburica and Singing clubs were not joined until March 1949 in Cleveland, where the "American-Croatian Singing Association" was founded. Croatian Americans had strong feelings about their homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
and they frequently demonstrated them publicly.
Organizations
The Croatian American organization Croatian Fraternal UnionCroatian Fraternal Union
The Croatian Fraternal Union , the oldest and largest Croatian organization in North America, is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA....
is a society with long roots in the USA. It was started in 1897. During World War II, it sent money to aid Croatia. The CFU contributes to Croatian Americans by scholarships and cultural learning.
The Croatian American Association is a group which lobbies the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on issues related to Croatia.
The Croatian American Network is a popular Facebook Group for communication and networking.
Culture
In 2007, the annual Croatian Film Festival in New York was founded by The Doors Art Foundation.White Croatians
In Poland there existed an ethnic group called White CroatsWhite Croats
White Croats is the designation for the group of Slavic tribes, of which seven tribes led by 5 brothers and 2 sisters migrated to Dalmatia as part of the migration of the Croats in the 7th century, being invited to settle on this vastly depopulated area by Roman...
(Bijeli Hrvati) which emigrated to United States. The group was concentrated around Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and mostly emigrated due to Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and later Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
oppression in Poland. It is interesting to add that according to American documents, from the beginning of this century, there were about 100,000 immigrants to the USA born around Krakow (Poland) who declared themselves to be Bielo-Chorvats, i.e. White Croats by nationality.
Well-known Croatian-Americans
Well-known Croatian-Americans past and present include Democratic politicians Mark Begich
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich is the junior United States Senator from Alaska and a member of the Democratic Party. A former mayor of Anchorage, he served on the Anchorage Assembly for almost ten years prior to being elected mayor in 2003...
and Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, Republican politicians George Radanovich
George Radanovich
George Purdy Radanovich is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2011. The district includes most of northern Fresno, as well as several rural areas northeast of the city. On December 29, 2009, Radanovich announced he would not seek reelection in 2010...
and John Kasich
John Kasich
John Richard Kasich is the 69th and current Governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1983 to 2001...
, Republican political consultant Mary Matalin
Mary Matalin
Mary Joe Matalin is an American political consultant, well known for her work with the Republican Party. She was an assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney until 2003. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint...
, Louis Cukela
Louis Cukela
Louis Cukela, born Vjekoslav Lujo Čukela, was a United States Marine numbered among the nineteen two-time recipients of the Medal of Honor. Cukela was awarded the Medal by both the US Army and the US Navy for the same action during the Battle of Soissons in World War I...
United States Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
numbered among the nineteen two-time recipients of the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, John J. Tominac
John J. Tominac
John Joseph Tominac was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.-Military career:...
also Medal of Honor recipient, game show host Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
, professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
players George Mikan
George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan, Jr. , nicknamed Mr. Basketball, was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League and the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBL, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Association...
and Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. , nicknamed Rudy T., is an American retired basketball player and coach who coached the Houston Rockets to two consecutive NBA championships. He is currently a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers.-Early life:...
, professional baseball player Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
, actors John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
, Jenna Elfman
Jenna Elfman
Jennifer Mary "Jenna" Elfman is an American television and film actress. She is known for her role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg and as Billie on the short-lived CBS sitcom Accidentally on Purpose....
, Elfman's uncle and lead singer of vocal group The Lettermen Tony Butala
Tony Butala
Tony Butala is an American singer. He has been the lead singer for the vocal group The Lettermen since 1958, and is the only original member left.-Early Life:...
, bassist of Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
Krist Novoselic
Krist Novoselic
Krist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian-American rock musician, best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. After Nirvana ended, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 and then Eyes Adrift, releasing one album with each band...
, oil industry pioneer Anthony Francis Lucas
Anthony Francis Lucas
Anthony Francis Lucas was a Croatian-born oil explorer. With Pattillo Higgins he organized the drilling of an oil well near Beaumont, Texas that became known as Spindletop...
, inventor and modern fishing industry pioneer Mario Puratić
Mario Puratić
Mario Puratić is a Croatian-born American inventor who made major advances in fishing technology, such as the Puretic power block....
, mathematician William Feller
William Feller
William Feller born Vilibald Srećko Feller , was a Croatian-American mathematician specializing in probability theory.-Early life and education:...
, winemaker Mike Grgich
Mike Grgich
Mike Grgich is a Croatian American winemaker in California. He was born into a winemaking family in the town of Desne on Croatia's coastal region of Dalmatia...
, film critic Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
Louis J. "Lou" Lumenick is an American film critic. He is the chief film critic and a blogger for the New York Post and has reviewed films there since 1999.-Life and career:Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens...
and Franjo Vlasic, founder and namesake of Vlasic Pickles, Ed Kobak, Jr., sports reference book author and publisher, John Owen Dominis
John Owen Dominis
John Owen Dominis was an American-born statesman. He became Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his marriage to the last reigning monarch, Queen Liliuokalani...
, Prince Consort of Hawaii, Ron Kovic
Ron Kovic
Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an anti-war activist, veteran and writer who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on the Fourth of July, which was made into an Academy Award–winning movie directed by Oliver Stone, with Tom Cruise playing Kovic...
, anti-war activist, John Mayasich
John Mayasich
John Edward Mayasich is a former American ice hockey player. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics....
, hockey player, Judah Friedlander
Judah Friedlander
Judah Friedlander is an American actor and comedian, known for his trademark trucker hats, oversized glasses and unkempt appearance, which he retains in many of his screen roles.-Early life:...
, actor and comedian, professional football coaches Nick Saban
Nick Saban
Nicholas Lou "Nick" Saban is the head coach of the University of Alabama's Crimson Tide football team. Saban has previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins and three other NCAA universities: LSU, Michigan State and Toledo...
and Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
, Denny "Sharkey" Mihalinec A well known Community Activist & Honorary Mayor in Trilby Florida.
See also
- Croats of Chile
- Croatian AustralianCroatian AustralianCroatia has been a source of migrants to Australia, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2006, 128,051 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as having Croatian ancestry.- History :...
- Canadians of Croatian ancestry
- European AmericanEuropean AmericanA European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
- Hyphenated AmericanHyphenated AmericanIn the United States, the term hyphenated American is an epithet commonly used from 1890 to 1920 to disparage Americans who were of foreign birth or origin, and who displayed an allegiance to a foreign country. It was most commonly used to disparage German Americans or Irish Americans who called...
External links
- Croatia and Croatians, Books about Croats in America
- Bibliography about Croatian Americans, Papers about Croats in America