Frederick August Otto Schwarz (October 18, 1836 – May 17, 1911) was a German-born American toy retailer known for founding

FAO Schwarz FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and store. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games. FAO Schwarz claims to be the oldest toy store in the United States ...

Biography

Schwarz was born to a German Lutheran family in 1836 at

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford. Geography Geographic locat ...

, Province of Westphalia,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and immigrated to the United States in 1856 with his three brothers,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Richard, and Gustav. He worked for a

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

stationery importer. German exporters sometimes packed toys and other items in with the stationery in the hope of expanding their exports. Schwarz put the toys in the store window, and they outsold the stationery. By 1862 he had switched to selling the toys from his own shop, and in 1870 he moved his business to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He married Caroline Clausen (1841–1904). Together they had four sons and three daughters: Anna Schwarz (1863–?), Ida Schwarz (1864-1942), Henry Schwarz, George Frederick Schwarz (1868–1931), Emilie Schwarz (1870–1958), H. Marshall Schwarz, and Herbert Ferlando Schwarz (1883–1960). Frederick August Otto Schwarz died at his home in Manhattan at 20 East 61st Street. Schwarz is buried in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

. Frederick August Otto Schwarz Jr. is his great grandson.

References

External links

* 1836 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople from Baltimore American businesspeople in retailing Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People from Herford Prussian emigrants to the United States 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1830s-stub