Armenian American facts for kids

William Saroyan was a well known Armenian American.

An Armenian American is an American whose ancestry is from Armenia. During the 2009 Census in the United States, 1,270,000 Americans indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry.

History

The first Armenian known to have moved to America is nicknamed "Martin the Armenian". He was one of the settlers in the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. He arrived in Jamestown in 1618, when the colony was only 11 years old. Martin was invited to the colony to raise silk worms. Other Armenians were also brought to the colony but they went back to Europe.

Armenians began to arrive in the United States in high numbers in the late 19th century. However, the influx was intensified when over 100,000 Armenian refugees came after World War I to flee the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

Images for kids

An Armenian family in Boston, 1908
Built in 1891, the Church of Our Savior in Worcester, Massachusetts was the first Armenian church in the US.
Armenian American dancers in New York City in July 1976 during the United States Bicentennial
Distribution of Armenians in Los Angeles County, 2000.
Glendale, California has the highest concentration of Armenians in the nation and the highest outside of Armenia.
The Armenian Heritage Park in downtown Boston
In Glendale, California crosswalk warnings in Spanish, English and Armenian were stenciled at several intersections in 2011.
Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Little Armenia neighborhood of East Hollywood is the largest Armenian school in the US with more than 1,000 students.
St. Vartan Cathedral in midtown Manhattan
Armenian National Committee of America headquarters in Washington
System of a Down is composed of four Armenians
George Deukmejian was the Governor of California from 1983 to 1991
Sgt. Victor Maghakian, considered one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II, with a Japanese family in 1944
The Avedis Zildjian Company is the largest cymbal manufacturer in the world.