The Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik (English:''Waldorf-Astoria Cigarette Factory'') was a German

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

company, established in Hamburg and Stuttgart by Emil Molt and several other partners on January 1, 1906. It was named after Johann Jakob Astor, born in 1763 in

Walldorf Walldorf (South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John Jacob Astor, who emigrated and became a promin ...

(in present-day Baden-Wurttemberg), who after emigrating to 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 territori ...

became the richest man in said country. The company proved successful; it employed around 1,000 people in 1919. However, it experienced difficulties in the second half of the 1920s due to outdated production-methods and the global economic situation, and a competing trust took over a large portion of the shares. In 1929, the company was liquidated. The Waldorf-Astoria tobacco brand, with the portrait of

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

, was taken over by a different company and is owned by

Reemtsma Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken GmbH is one of the biggest tobacco and cigarette manufacturing companies in Europe and a subsidiary of Imperial Brands. The company's headquarters is in Hamburg, Germany. History Reemtsma was created in 1910 in Erf ...

. Waldorf-Astoria became famous for giving its name to

Waldorf education Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ski ...

.Schmelzer, Albert. ''How the Waldorf movement began.'' https://www.freunde-waldorf.de/en/the-friends/publications/catalogue-waldorf-education/how-the-waldorf-movement-began/ On September 7, 1919, Emil Molt established the first

Waldorf school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ...

in cooperation with

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

. It was a school in Stuttgart for the children of the Waldorf-Astoria employees, and based upon Steiner's ideas.

References

{{Authority control Tobacco companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Hamburg Manufacturing companies based in Stuttgart