Compiled by Dr. Quan Tran and Annette Kim

Early 1800s

• Henry ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia/Obookiah (1792-1818) arrived in Connecticut as the first pupil of The Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, CT. As the first Native Hawai‘ian to become a Christian, he helped facilitated Hawai‘i’s conversion to Christianity.
• Two students from China were also educated at the Foreign Mission School during this period.

1830s-1840s

• Some Native Hawai‘ian and Polynesian crewmen employed on whaleships from Nantucket (RI), Martha’s Vineyard (MA), New Bedford (MA), and Mystic (CT) followed their employers’ vessels when they returned to their ports of origin.

1850s

• Yung Wing (1828-1912) matriculated as the first Chinese student at an American college (Yale) and graduated in 1854.
• Some Connecticut businessmen participated in the “coolie” trade of indentured Chinese and Indian laborers in the Caribbean.

1860s

• China-born Joseph Pierce fought in the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment; Antonio Dardelle served in the 27th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; John Lodigo (born in China) enlisted in the 31st Colored Infantry in New Haven. In 1864, John Banks and Daniel Newport (both born in the East Indies) enlisted in the 30th and 29th Regiments of Connecticut Colored Infantry respectively. Peter Johnson (Native Hawai‘ian) joined the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry in Bridgeport and Hartford.

1870s

• The Chinese Educational Mission (1872-1881) established in Hartford, CT. 120 boys from China arrived in Hartford to be educated in the US. Archival evidence suggests that members of the Mission celebrated Lunar New Year during this period. This tradition is celebrated as the year’s most important holiday in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, South and North Korea, and countries with significant populations from these regions.
• Chinese merchants opened tea companies and other establishments in New Haven.

1880s

• The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) heavily hindered immigration from China to the US, including in Connecticut. This act was not repealed until 1943.

1890s

• Some of the earliest Chinese restaurants opened their doors in New Haven and Hartford.

1910s

• The Asiatic Barred Zone Act (1917) further reduced the immigration of people from different parts of Asia to the US, including Connecticut.

1940s

• Some Chinese Americans in Connecticut served in the US military during World War II.
• The University of Connecticut admitted Japanese American students during the Japanese American Internment period (1942-1946) through the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council established by the American Friends Service Committee. In the post-internment and post-war period, some Japanese Americans resettled in Connecticut.

1950s

• South Korean students and professionals arriving in Connecticut in the aftermath of the Korean War formed the Korean American Society of Connecticut (1957).

1960s

• The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act facilitated the migration of skilled workers from different parts of Asia, including from South, Southeast, and East Asia to Connecticut.
• Filipino students, health care professionals, and others established cultural communities in Connecticut, including the Philippine-American Association of Connecticut (1965) and the Pilipino Association of Connecticut Inc (1969).

1970s

• Organization of Chinese Americans, Fairfield Chapter, was established in 1974.
• Refugees from Southeast Asian countries (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam) resettled in Connecticut in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Genocide under the Khmer Rouge. Family reunification provisions further enlarge these communities across Connecticut in later decades.

1980s

• The Census estimated that 18,970 Asian Pacific Americans resided in CT.
• The Chinese Language School of Greater Hartford and the Chinese Culture Center were established in 1980.
• The creation of several Southeast Asian American community organizations including the Buddhist Association of Connecticut, the Vietnamese Mutual Assistance Association of Connecticut (1980), the Lao Association of Connecticut (1980), the Cambodian Buddhist Association (1987), and others.
• The Korean Language and Cultural Education Institute, also known as Woori Hankuk School, opened its doors at Trinity College in Hartford in 1985.
• Racism directed at Asian American students by fellow students on a bus to a dance at UConn (1987).
• The Japanese Society of Connecticut was formed in 1986 to serve the needs of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans in the Greater Hartford region. The JSC later became the Japanese Society of Greater Hartford (2013).
• The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin established in 1989 in NYC and subsequently in Connecticut.

1990s

• The Census estimated that 50,698 Asian Pacific Americans resided in CT.
• The Tibetan Association of Connecticut was established in the early 1990s.
•  The UConn Asian American Cultural Center and the UConn Asian and Asian American Studies Institute were established in 1993.
• The Connecticut Sikh Association was established in 1993.
• The Hmong Foundation of Connecticut was established in 1996.

2000s

• The Census estimated that 83,679 Asian Pacific Americans resided in CT.
• Refugees from Burma and Bhutan resettled in various parts of Connecticut.
• The Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut (APAC) was established in 2006.
• William Tong became the first Asian American to hold state office in CT history when he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 147th District in 2006.
• The Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission was created by an act of the Connecticut General Assembly (2008).
• Nepalese Association of Connecticut formed in 2009.

2010s

• The Census estimated that 134,091 Asian Pacific Americans resided in CT.
• Society of Nepalese in Connecticut established in 2012.
• Saud Anwar became the first Asian American and Muslim mayor of South Windsor of Pakistani background (2013).
• Tony Hwang became the first Asian American State Senator in Connecticut in 2014. He is of Taiwanese background.
• The Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission was consolidated into the Commission on Equity and Opportunity (2016), which later became the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity.
• William Tong became Connecticut’s 25th Attorney General (2019). He is the first Chinese American elected as Attorney General nationwide.

2020s

• The Census estimated that 176,000 Asian Pacific Americans resided in CT.
• The COVID 19 pandemic led to a surge in anti-Asian racism across the world, country, and also in Connecticut.
• Connecticut became the third state to pass a mandate to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history in public school at the K-12 level (2022).
• Maryam Khan was elected in 2022 to represent the 5th District. She is the first Muslim member of the Connecticut House of Representatives.
• MD Rahman was elected in 2022 to represent Connecticut’s 4th State Senate District. He is the first Senator of Bangladeshi background in the state.
• The New England Asian American Cultural Center opens in Milford (2022).
• Arunan Arulampalam elected as Hartford Mayor (2024), the first Asian American of Sri Lankan background to hold that post in Hartford.

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