August Uihlein (1842–1911) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

, business executive and horse breeder.

Early life

August Uihlein was born Georg Karl August Ühlein in 1842 in

Wertheim am Main Wertheim (East Franconian: ''Wärde'') is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its land ...

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

, which is now in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He had a brother, Henry Uihlein. His family had for years kept the ''Gasthaus zur Krone'', an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. In 1850, the Tauber River flooded, flooding the inn's basement. Uihlein's grandfather, George Krug, offered to take his oldest grandson with him to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where Krug's son, August Krug, had a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

and

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

. During the trip from Wertheim, their ship caught fire in the mid-Atlantic. Krug and Uihlein clasped a wooden box until rescued by sailors of the American bark, ''Devonshire''. In Milwaukee, Uihlein attended the

German-English Academy The University School of Milwaukee (often abbreviated to USM) is an independent pre-kindergarten through secondary preparatory school in River Hills and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded as the result of the merger of three schools, Milwa ...

. He also attended St. Louis University in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

from 1855 to 1857.

Career

Uihlein worked in the

Uhrig Brewery Uhrig is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Michelle Uhrig (born 1996), German speed skater * Peter Uhrig (born 1965), German lightweight rower * Robert Uhrig (1903–1944), German communist and resistance fighter against Nationa ...

in St. Louis from 1857 to 1867. Returning to Milwaukee in 1867, he joined what was then the

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz (), was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was adve ...

, formerly the Krug Brewery founded by his uncle August Krug in the 1840s. (Krug's widow, Anna Maria, had married

Joseph Schlitz Joseph Schlitz (May 15, 1831 – May 7, 1875) was a German-American entrepreneur who made his fortune in the brewing industry. Early life Joseph Schlitz was born on May 15, 1831 in Mainz, Hesse-Darmstadt. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1850. Care ...

in 1858.) On the death of Schlitz in 1875, control of the firm passed into the hands of Uihlein and his brothers. When Mrs. Schlitz died in 1887, the Uihlein brothers acquired complete ownership of the corporation. Uihlein was secretary and chairman of the board (1874–1911). He was also actively involved in

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

, and many other Milwaukee businesses.

Horse breeding and philanthropy

Interested in

purebred Purebreds are "cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the p ...

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

, he kept a large stock farm at

Truesdell, Wisconsin Truesdell is a residential and business neighborhood of the city of Kenosha in east-central Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. It lies along Highway 50 on the former Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific) main railroad line from Chicago, Il ...

, near

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

. He was the owner of Harvester. Uihlein donated large sums to the German-English Academy and to the

Milwaukee Public Library Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is the public library system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, consisting of a central library and 13 branches, all part of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. MPL is the largest public library sys ...

Personal life

Uihlein had three sons, Erwin,

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, and Robert, and three daughters, Ida Pabst, Mrs W. C. Brumder, and Paula Uihlein. Ida, his eldest daughter, was married to Frederick Pabst Jr., son of brewer

Frederick Pabst Johann Gottlieb Friedrich "Frederick" Pabst (March 28, 1836 – January 1, 1904) was a German-American brewer for whom the Pabst Brewing Company was named. Biography Early life Pabst was born on March 28, 1836, in the village of Nikolausrieth, ...

. He was widowed in 1910, and moved to

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

, Germany to rest with family members. He celebrated his 69th birthday in Switzerland. Uihlein died in 1911 in Heligoland, Germany, whose then ruler was

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

. By the time of his death, he was worth an estimated US$4 million, which was split among his six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uihlein, August 1842 births 1911 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Businesspeople from Milwaukee German emigrants to the United States People from Wertheim am Main American brewers 19th-century American businesspeople University School of Milwaukee alumni 19th-century American philanthropists Uihlein Family

Early life

Career

Horse breeding and philanthropy

Personal life

See also

References