Michael Diversey (born Diversy as shown on his grave in St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

; December 10, 1810 – December 12, 1869) was an American beer brewer, owner of the Diversey Beer Brewery. Diversey was an immigrant from Illingen,

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

, Germany. He landed in the US in 1830, and went into partnership with English immigrant William Lill around 1841. The company changed its name and became the Lill & Diversey Brewery, also known simply as The Chicago Brewery. It was destroyed in the

1871 Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

Michael Diversey was a philanthropist. He was also a Chicago alderman (1844–45; 1856–1868). During the 1850s, Diversey was active in the antiprohibitionist crusade that sought to repel the influence of

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

reformers who attempted to ban the sale and manufacture of alcohol. The

Diversey Parkway Diversey Parkway (, 2800 N.) is a major east–west street on the North Side of Chicago. Diversey separates the Chicago lakefront neighborhoods of Lakeview to the north and Lincoln Park to the south. West of the North Branch of the Chicago Riv ...

in Chicago is named after him. St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Chicago was built on land donated to the parish by Michael Diversey, and the choice of 'Michael' in the name was in honor of him too.https://www.st-mikes.org/our-history Until 1885, St. Michael’s was the tallest building in Chicago. Michael Diversey was married to Angela Diversy (June 10, 1810 – November 9, 1883). Oil portraits of Michael and Angela Diversy are in the collection of the

Chicago History Museum Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the int ...

References

1810 births 1869 deaths Philanthropists from Illinois German emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Chicago American brewers 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople Chicago City Council members {{US-business-bio-1810s-stub