This website is dedicated to the life and memory of David Tengelin.
Maintained by his brother, Patric Tengelin, it serves as a collection of essays, archival material, and other resources documenting David's life, his experiences in New York City, and the legacy he left behind.
When David Tengelin arrived in New York on January 4, 1999, he was twenty-three years old, unemployed, and uncertain about what the future would hold. The New York Public Library and Bryant Park became part of how he established himself in the city. After his death on September 11, 2001, Bryant Park honored that connection by presenting his family with a memorial chair bearing his name. More than two decades later, the plaque has been renewed. This essay traces David’s relationship with Bryant Park through history, remembrance, and continuation, placing his story alongside the writers and generations of New Yorkers who found refuge, community, and belonging there.
Family Witness to 9/11 — Returning to Ground Zero Over the Years
A personal account of returning to New York across more than two decades, documenting how Ground Zero, the memorials, public ceremonies, and the surrounding city have changed as the events of September 11 gradually passed from immediate memory into history.
Letters From David Tengelin: A 9/11 Memorial in His Own Words
A collection of letters, journal entries, and personal writings preserved from David’s time in New York. Together they provide a firsthand record of his experiences, ambitions, observations, and daily life in the years leading up to September 11, allowing readers to encounter his own voice directly through the words he left behind.
The Legacy of David “Swede” Tengelin (1976–2001)
A biographical essay tracing David's journey from Sweden to Arizona and ultimately to New York City. Through soccer, friendship, and everyday life in Manhattan, it reconstructs the communities and places that shaped his final years—from Sunday evenings playing in Prospect Park with friends from his Arizona years to Tuesday-night matches with the D. Boon All-Stars on the rooftop fields at Pier 40 overlooking the Hudson River. It also revisits memorable moments along the way, including a summer afternoon at Yankee Stadium when we unknowingly witnessed David Cone's perfect game.
Drawing upon journal entries written from the 100th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, this essay preserves David's own reflections on New York, his work, and the city he worked so hard to make his home. Through his own words, readers gain a window into the ambitions, optimism, and sense of possibility that defined this chapter of his life.
Sourcebook Project (In Progress)
A long-term archival project bringing together documents, photographs, correspondence, newspaper coverage, interviews, journals, family records, and other primary source material relating to David's life. The goal is to create the most complete historical record possible, preserving not only the major events of his life but also the details, relationships, places, and experiences that might otherwise be lost over time.
Oral History Project (Planned)
Following completion of the Sourcebook Project, I intend to record a comprehensive oral history based upon my own memories and experiences. Drawing upon decades of research, family records, photographs, correspondence, journals, and archival material, the project will serve as a detailed first-person account of David’s life, our family, and the years surrounding his time in New York. The purpose is not only to preserve memories, but to leave behind a permanent historical record for future generations after those with firsthand knowledge are no longer here to tell the story themselves.
Iowa State Daily (CNN Wire Service)
After a decade of grief and recovery, nation remembers 9/11
September 11, 2011
In this article from the 10th anniversary, Patric Tengelin told reporters about his brother: “I can mourn him anywhere, but it’s important to come here too. I remember his kindness. He treated everyone with respect and he had a heart of gold … I loved how he came here to pursue the American dream. He showed us you have to go after your dreams no matter what. He’s a big inspiration for all of us.”
Nordstjernan
2002
The mother of David Tengelin writes of her 25-year-old son, a Swedish citizen who fully embraced the American dream. He excelled academically, earning an International Baccalaureate with honors in Sweden and a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Northern Arizona University on scholarships, then moved alone to New York with no job or housing, enduring early hardships while pursuing his goals. David was a passionate soccer player, avid reader of influential 20th-century authors like Milan Kundera and Camus, a gifted artist, globetrotter who sought new experiences daily, and an aspiring author and architect who lived by inspirational mottos such as “Live every day as though it were your last.”
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency
The Attacks and Their Aftermath: The Only Missing Swede
October 1, 2001
The author recalls his 25-year-old Swedish friend and soccer teammate David Tengelin, an accountant with Marsh & McLennan on the 100th floor of the North Tower, who became the only missing Swede after the 9/11 attacks. Known affectionately as “Toe Poke” for his goal-scoring style on their UrbanSoccer team and as “Swede” to his Arizona college friends, David is portrayed as a wily, adaptable young man full of life and quick humor. The piece describes the emotional memorial service in a Swedish Lutheran church near Gramercy Park, where David’s father spoke with unshakable faith, and the team’s subdued soccer match the following Tuesday overlooking the World Trade Center site, highlighting the profound absence left by his disappearance.
The Independent
One year on: The eyewitness account
September 11, 2002
Weeks after 9/11, the streets of New York were covered with heartbreaking “missing” flyers showing victims’ smiling faces, which gradually disappeared. At St. Paul’s Chapel near Ground Zero, the author is suddenly stopped by a fresh poster of David Tengelin—the young, blond Swede—placed there by his family not in false hope of his return, but to ensure he is not forgotten. The moment forces a prolonged, immobilizing confrontation with the human cost of the tragedy and the importance of remembrance.
Through Our Eyes
2002
In her essay, the author recalls David Tengelin as a tall, blond young Swede who moved into her Manhattan home as a tenant. She describes him as reliable, honest, and impressively knowledgeable, with a wisdom that stood out as he eagerly discussed politics in both Sweden and the United States, while sharing her interests in the arts. Athletic and sociable, David played soccer and ran at Chelsea Piers, possessed a big beautiful smile, and had a keen sense of humor; he lived with her for nearly two years before moving into his own apartment with friends in August 2001.
Aftonbladet
Här kom planet rakt mot Davids skrivbord
September 11, 2002
English: In the article, the father of David Tengelin describes how the first hijacked plane struck close to his son’s desk on the 100th floor of the North Tower. David, a 25-year-old adventurer who loved traveling and had moved to New York to fulfill his dream of working in Manhattan, left behind photos, letters, and memories of a bright, athletic young man with a passion for exploration. One year after the attacks, the father finds solace sitting on a red memorial bench dedicated to David in Gothenburg’s Botanical Garden, reflecting on the deep void while avoiding large memorial gatherings.
Swedish: I artikeln berättar pappan till David Tengelin hur det första kapade planet slog ner nära sonens skrivbord på 100:e våningen i norra tornet. David, en 25-årig äventyrare som älskade att resa och hade flyttat till New York för att förverkliga drömmen om att arbeta på Manhattan, lämnade efter sig foton, brev och minnen av en ljus, atletisk ung man med starkt upptäckarlust. Ett år efter attackerna finner pappan tröst på en röd minnesbänk tillägnad David i Göteborgs Botaniska trädgård, medan han reflekterar över det stora tomrummet och undviker stora minneshögtider.
Aftonbladet
September 11, 2011
English: In the article about the 10-year anniversary memorial ceremony at Ground Zero, Swedish victim David Tengelin received a special mention during the reading of the nearly 3,000 names. A woman reading his name conveyed a personal greeting from his family who had traveled from Sweden: “They love you and miss you”. David, who worked on the 100th floor of the North Tower where the first plane struck, was remembered amid moments of silence, poetry readings by dignitaries, and the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony attended by relatives and others honoring the victims.
Swedish: I artikeln om minnesceremonin på tioårsdagen av 9/11 vid Ground Zero fick den svenske offret David Tengelin ett särskilt omnämnande under uppläsningen av de nära 3 000 namnen. En kvinna som läste upp hans namn framförde en personlig hälsning från familjen som rest från Sverige: “De älskar dig och saknar dig”. David, som arbetade på 100:e våningen i norra tornet där det första planet träffade, hedrades under tysta minuter, dikter lästa av dignitärer och den högtidliga stämningen där anhöriga och andra samlades för att minnas offren.
Hallandsposten
Svenske David, 25, dog i World Trade Center
September 11, 2016
English: The father of 25-year-old David Tengelin from Gothenburg shares his enduring grief 15 years after his son died in the 9/11 attacks while working on the 100th floor of the North Tower. David, who had pursued the American dream after studying in Arizona, was the only Swede killed in the terror attacks. The father describes his son as a humble world citizen with a curious mind, recalls the painful wait for news, and honors his memory through annual reflections, a donated park bench in Gothenburg’s Botanical Garden, and hopes to one day read David’s name at a New York memorial ceremony.
Swedish: Pappan till 25-årige David Tengelin från Göteborg om sin bestående sorg 15 år efter att sonen omkom i terrorattackerna den 11 september 2001 på 100:e våningen i norra tornet. David, som levde den amerikanska drömmen efter studier i Arizona, var den ende svensken som dog i attackerna. Pappan beskriver honom som en ödmjuk världsmedborgare med nyfikenhet, minns den plågsamma väntan på besked och hedrar minnet genom årliga reflektioner, en donerad parkbänk i Göteborgs Botaniska trädgård och ett hopp om att en dag få läsa upp Davids namn vid en minnesceremoni i New York.
Sveriges Radio, Studio Ett
Tio år efter terrorattackerna i New York
September 8, 2011
English: In the radio segment marking ten years since 9/11, reporter Katarina Andersson interviews Patric Tengelin, brother of 25-year-old David Tengelin, the Swede who worked on the 100th floor of the North Tower. Patric recounts watching the shocking TV coverage from Sweden on the afternoon of September 11 and the family’s devastating loss. The piece reflects on the enduring impact of the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives, including David’s.
Swedish: I radioreportaget med anledning av tioårsminnet av 9/11 intervjuar Katarina Andersson Patric Tengelin, bror till 25-årige David Tengelin, svensken som arbetade på 100:e våningen i norra tornet. Patric berättar om hur han följde den chockerande tv-rapporteringen hemifrån Sverige på eftermiddagen den 11 september och familjens stora sorg. Inslaget reflekterar över det bestående avtrycket efter terrorattackerna som krävde nära 3 000 människoliv, däribland Davids.