Oscar Ferdinand Mayer (March 29, 1859 – March 11, 1955) 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 ...

who founded the processed-meat firm

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

that bears his name.

Early life and career

Mayer was born in Kösingen (now part of

Neresheim Neresheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated northeast of Heidenheim, and southeast of Aalen. It's the home of the Neresheim Abbey, which still hosts monks, was '' Reichsfrei'' until the Germa ...

), in the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, where his family had been foresters and ministers for generations. While he was a child, Württemberg became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. In 1873 he emigrated to the United States and lived in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

with his cousin, John Schroll. He worked in that city's meat market and in 1876 moved to

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

with the Schrolls. Mayer found work at

Armour & Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most ...

in Chicago's North Side. In 1880, he shared his idea of starting his own meat business with his younger brother, Gottfried, who was back 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 asked Gottfried to begin studying the sausage making process. Meanwhile, Oscar began saving money for the venture. Three years later, he started a butcher and sausage-making shop of his own, when he was 24 years old with his brothers, Gottfried and Max. Five years later, the proprietor who owned the store refused to renew Mayer's lease, hoping that he could profit from Mayer's business success. Pushed out on his own, Mayer bought a property and constructed a two-story building for his business and family. In 1887 he married Louise Greiner, originally from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, and their only son, Oscar G. Mayer Sr. was born in that building. With the company's continued growth, it became a sponsor of such events as

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

bands and the German exhibition at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893. The company had grown to 43 employees in 1900, offering meat delivered across the city of Chicago and its suburbs. Capitalizing on an industry trend, in 1904 the company started using its own brands for its meat products and was one of the earliest participants in the

Food Safety and Inspection Service The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that United States' commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg pro ...

, created under the

Federal Meat Inspection Act The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (FMIA) is an American law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat and meat products being sold as food, and ensures that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under strictly r ...

of 1906, to verify the contents of its products.The 124 Year History of "Oscar Mayer" Foods
, The International Food Products Group Ltd. Accessed July 8, 2009. By the time of his death, the business named after himself had grown to 9,000 employees, with facilities in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

;

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

;

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

; and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1912, Mayer founded the

Lincoln Park Gun Club The Lincoln Park Gun Club was a private (later public) gun club founded in 1912 by Oscar F. Mayer, W. C. Peacock, P. K. Wrigley, Sewell Avery, and other prominent Chicagoans. John Philip Sousa and his band performed at the clubhouse's dedication. ...

with

Philip K. Wrigley Philip Knight Wrigley (December 5, 1894 – April 12, 1977), often called P. K. Wrigley, was an American chewing gum manufacturer and a Major League Baseball executive, inheriting both of those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant fa ...

Sewell Avery Sewell Lee Avery (November 4, 1874 – October 31, 1960) was an American businessman who achieved early prominence in gypsum mining and became president of the United States Gypsum Company (1905–1936). At the beginning of the Depression, he ...

, and other prominent Chicagoans.

Death

After being ill for six weeks, he died (two weeks before his 96th birthday) in his sleep at age 95 on March 11, 1955, at his home, 5727 North Sheridan Road, in Chicago, with his son and successor Oscar G. Mayer Sr. and his three daughters at his bedside. His wife died in 1931. His great-grandson

Chuck Collins Chuck Collins (born October 19, 1959) is an author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is ...

is an economist and philanthropist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Oscar F. 1859 births 1955 deaths People from Neresheim People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German emigrants to the United States American food company founders Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople in the meat packing industry Burials at Rosehill Cemetery