Friedrich Wilhelm "Fritz" von Frantzius was a German-born American businessman and millionaire.

Life and career

Von Frantzius was born on May 17, 1865, in Sawdin, West Prussia to parents Arthur (1823-1889) and Ida (Ehlert) von Frantzius (* 1831).''F. von Frantzius Dies; Left $11,250,000.'' (1917, January 9). New York Times, p. 3. He was educated at Marlenwerder and Graudenz in West Prussia from 1872 to 1885. He worked for three years in Berlin as a clerk of export and commission for the firm Ostberg & Loeser. In 1888, von Frantzius came to the United States. He worked as a bookkeeper for Lipps & Button Silk Mills from 1888 to 1889, for Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co. from 1889 to 1892, for Siemens & Halske Electric Co. from 1892 to 1893 and for J. F. Wollen-sac from 1893 to 1896. He then worked in the real estate business with S. E. Gross and Sam Brown Jr. from 1896 until he became a banker and broker in 1899 at the firm Von Frantzius & Krusemarck. In 1901 he began working with Ben Marcuse at the firm Von Frantzius & Co.Marquis, A. N. (1911). ''The book of chicagoans: A biographical dictionary of leading living men of the city of chicago.'' Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company. On December 9, 1900, in Berlin, von Frantzius was selected as the Councilor of the Foreign Office and Councilor of the High Court for the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He married Margarete Sieber on September 28, 1893, and they had two children,

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and Anne-Marie. On June 23, 1913, von Frantzius married his second wife, the Australian dancer

Saharet Paulina Clarissa Molony (23 March 1878 – 24 July 1964), known professionally as Saharet, was an Australian dancer who performed in vaudeville music houses as well as in Broadway theater, Broadway productions in the United States as well as in E ...

, with whom he had long been obsessed. He made her vow to give up dancing forever, and she agreed to the condition. However, she stayed with him for only four days before she ripped up the marriage contract and left for Europe to pursue her career. Von Frantzius published a book in 1914, in response to an article written by

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

.Matthews, B. (1914, September 20). ''Germans as exponents of culture.'' New York Times, p. 14. The book was originally titled ''Germans as Exponents of Culture'' but later editions were titled ''

The Book of Truth and Facts ''The Book of Truth and Facts'' (originally published as ''Germans as Exponents of Culture'') was originally released in 1914 by Friedrich Wilhelm von Frantzius. It was published during World War I and functioned as a piece of pro-German propag ...

''. Von Frantzius died on January 8, 1917, in Chicago from heart disease. His estate was worth an estimated $11,250,000 at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frantzius, Fritz von 1865 births 1917 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago People from Olsztyn 19th-century American businesspeople