Hoving, Johannes, 1868-1954

Johannes Walter Wilhelm Hoving (1868-1954) was born in Finland. He studied medicine in Berlin and Stockholm and became a physician in 1898. He married Helga (nee Adamsen), an opera singer born in Copenhagen and raised in Stockholm. The couple lived in Finland for a time, but emigrated to the United States in 1903 due to Hoving's opposition to the Russification of Finland. The Hovings settled in New York, where Johannes maintained a medical practice and the couple remained until 1934.

Johannes Hoving's love of all things Swedish led to his involvement in many Swedish-American organizations, including the Vasa Order, the newspaper Nordstjernan, the Jenny Lind Association, and the St. Erik Club for Swedish Art and Writing in America. Helga Hoving established a children's group within the Vasa Order, and the Hovings organized and escorted groups of Swedish-American children to Sweden in 1924, 1929, and 1933. Johannes Hoving emphasized the importance maintaining the Swedish language in emigrant communities in the United States, especially among the second generation.

The Hovings returned to Sweden in 1934, where Johannes focused on genealogical research and writing his memoirs while the couple lived out their days. One of their sons, Walter Hoving, became a leading businessman and socialite after rescuing Tiffany & Company jewelry from the brink of bankruptcy.

Bibliography:

Barton, H. Arnold. "The Last Chieftains: Johannes and Helga Hoving." Swedish-American Historical Quarterly XLVII:1 (January 1997)

From the guide to the Johannes Hoving papers, 1917-1936, (American Swedish Historical Museum)