Gustav Otto Ludolf Heine (January 7, 1868 – April 23, 1959) was the owner of a piano business (''Heine Piano Company'') in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, which was formerly his boss's (''Bruenn Piano Company''). He also manufactured automobiles under the name of

Heine-Velox Heine-Velox was a large, expensive luxury car made by Gustav Heine. Heine Piano Company was originally Bruenn Piano Company before Heine became owner. All were based in San Francisco. Piano business Gustav Otto Ludolf Heine was born near Boi ...

Early life

Heine was born near

Boizenburg Boizenburg () is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, 53 km west of Ludwigslust, 25 km northeast of Lüneburg and 50 km east of ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

grand duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in the o ...

of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on January 7, 1868. He moved to

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

, possibly in 1873, with his parents and seven siblings.

Career

By the time Heine was sixteen years old, he moved to San Francisco and had gotten a job sweeping floors at the Bruenn Piano Company. He was soon trained as a piano tuner, and within two years became a partner at Bruenn. After a disagreement, Heine forcefully became owner of the company. He also sold pianos made by other manufacturers under his name; his pianos may say "Cincinnati" and "San Francisco". Heine built a series of automobiles under the name of Heine-Velox. Three vehicles were manufactured before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed both his workshop and piano store over on Union Square. He used his cars in relief efforts in the city, transporting people out of the city, carrying supplies like fresh milk and water, and even the dead for burial. In 1907–08 he built some more cars with larger engines, these being featured in the San Francisco Auto Show in 1907. His car building activities were on hold until 1921 when he reintroduced the Heine-Velox name. The vehicle had a Weidly V-12 engine and retailed for $25,000. Around six were built.

Death

Heine was found dead of a gunshot wound on April 23, 1959, at his three-story mansion in Sunol, California. His death was determined by the local sheriff to be a suicide.

References

German emigrants to the United States 1868 births 1959 deaths Suicides by firearm in California German founders of automobile manufacturers 1959 suicides {{US-business-bio-1860s-stub