Page DescriptionThe entrepreneurial careers of William “Bill” Klein and his brother Frederick began in the shadows of Milton Hershey’s burgeoning chocolate empire on the streets of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After working at Hershey's Chocolate Company, the brothers relocated to Elizabethtown and founded their own company. The Klein Chocolate Company was hugely successful and remained in family hands throughout its existence, at times providing employment for brothers and sisters and financial security for the entire immigrant family.
TeaserThe entrepreneurial careers of William “Bill” Klein and his brother Frederick began in the shadows of Milton Hershey’s burgeoning chocolate empire on the streets of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After working at Hershey's Chocolate Company, the brothers relocated to Elizabethtown and founded their own company. The Klein Chocolate Company was hugely successful and remained in family hands throughout its existence, at times providing employment for brothers and sisters and financial security for the entire immigrant family.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, Food and Food Processing, Mid-Atlantic, Second Generation, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945, W,
TeaserThrough a series of savvy investment moves that drew on his uncanny ability to predict market demands and take calculated risks, John W. Kluge rose to the top of the U.S. media industry. He was one of the first to advocate a multimedia approach to marketing, and offered advertisers a variety of potential outlets to reach consumers. He transformed the Metropolitan Broadcasting Corp., which consisted of two floundering television stations and two radio stations, into Metromedia, Inc., which became the largest independent television business in the United States during the height of the major broadcast networks’ power in the 1960s and 1970s.
TermsA-Z, Advertising, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, K, Mid-Atlantic, Philanthropy and Social Advocacy, Publishing and Media,
Page DescriptionTogether with his wife Florence, a prominent interior designer, German-born immigrant Hans Knoll played a significant role in introducing modernist design into the market for high-end residential and office furniture through his firm Knoll Associates.
TeaserTogether with his wife Florence, a prominent interior designer, German-born immigrant Hans Knoll played a significant role in introducing modernist design into the market for high-end residential and office furniture through his firm Knoll Associates.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, Furniture, Industrial Design, K, Manufacturing, Mid-Atlantic, Textiles,
TeaserOscar C. Koehler was the pivot point in a large family of brewers who, over the course of two generations, built up successful businesses in a portion of the Midwest that extended from St. Louis, Missouri, to Davenport, Iowa. In the St. Louis and Davenport metropolitan areas, the Koehlers achieved great social prestige and influence, both within the German-American community and in society as a whole. Their elite status and their ability to leverage capital eventually helped the Koehlers attain even greater business success.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Brewing, Encyclopedia, Entries, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, K, Midwest, Second Generation,
Page DescriptionBernard Heinrich Kroger, known nationally for his eponymous chain of wholesale grocery stores, capitalized on America’s growing consumerism by buying wholesale and slashing prices, and by reaching a massive audience with his colorful and innovative advertising campaigns. By the end of World War I, the Kroger grocery store had evolved from a local neighborhood shop into a national business.
TeaserBernard Heinrich Kroger, known nationally for his eponymous chain of wholesale grocery stores, capitalized on America’s growing consumerism by buying wholesale and slashing prices, and by reaching a massive audience with his colorful and innovative advertising campaigns. By the end of World War I, the Kroger grocery store had evolved from a local neighborhood shop into a national business.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, Food and Food Processing, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, Grocery, K, Retail, Second Generation,
Article TitlePolitical Revolution, Emigration, and Establishing a Regional Player in Brewing: August Krug and Joseph Schlitz
Page TitlePolitical Revolution, Emigration, and Establishing a Regional Player in Brewing: August Krug and Joseph Schlitz
Short TitlePolitical Revolution, Emigration, and Establishing a Regional Player in Brewing: August Krug and Joseph Schlitz
Index TitleKrug, August and Joseph Schlitz
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Page Description
TeaserBrewing is surely the business most closely associated with German-American immigrant entrepreneurs, and the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was one of the most prominent and best known examples. This biographical case study, however, stresses that the success of immigrant entrepreneurs was not only related to a new type of (lager) beer and an intense knowledge transfer from Germany to the United States. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was the result of the work of three different families, closely connected by regional origins, marriage, and kinship. When Georg August Krug opened a saloon and a small brewery in Milwaukee in 1848–1849, he offered a service like that provided by hundreds of other German immigrants. Upon Krug’s death, in 1856, Joseph Schlitz, his bookkeeper, took over the business and eventually married Krug’s widow Anna Maria. Schlitz built the brewery into one of the larger local and regional players over the years before his accidental death in 1875, when it was taken over by his nephews, the Uihlein brothers.
Page DescriptionCarl Laemmle was the founder of Universal Pictures Company and one of the founding fathers of Hollywood and the studio system
TeaserCarl Laemmle was the founder of Universal Pictures Company and one of the founding fathers of Hollywood and the studio system
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entertainment Industry, Entries, First Generation, German-Jewish, L, Nazi Germany, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945,
TeaserWalter Landor, an industrial designer and pioneer in branding, created some of the world’s most recognizable packages, brands, and trademarks.
TermsA-Z, Advertising, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, German-Jewish, Industrial Design, L, Marketing, Pacific West,
Page DescriptionAs president of Lord & Thomas, Albert Lasker not only pioneered new advertising and branding techniques for leading companies such as Sunkist oranges, Wrigley’s Gum, and American Tobacco’s Lucky Strike cigarettes but showed how advertising could also break down social barriers, sharpen political campaigns, and promote philanthropic causes.
TeaserAs president of Lord & Thomas, Albert Lasker not only pioneered new advertising and branding techniques for leading companies such as Sunkist oranges, Wrigley’s Gum, and American Tobacco’s Lucky Strike cigarettes but showed how advertising could also break down social barriers, sharpen political campaigns, and promote philanthropic causes.
TermsA-Z, Advertising, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, German-Jewish, L, Midwest, Politics, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945,
Page DescriptionFounded first by immigrant Henry Lehman as a mercantile store in Montgomery Alabama, Lehman Bros. underwent a series of reinventions with the help of his brothers Mayer and Emanuel to become first an important commodity brokerage and eventually an investment bank in New York.
TeaserFounded first by immigrant Henry Lehman as a mercantile store in Montgomery Alabama, Lehman Bros. underwent a series of reinventions with the help of his brothers Mayer and Emanuel to become first an important commodity brokerage and eventually an investment bank in New York.
TermsA-Z, Banking and Finance, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, German-Jewish, L, The Emergence of an Industrial Nation, 1840-1893,
TeaserHannah Levy and her brother, Jack Levy, were born to Jewish parents in the town of Haigerloch in Southern Germany. As was the case with many German Jews, the story of the Levy family reflects the common immigrant phenomenon of chain migration and the importance of family ethnic networks. Pushed out of Germany by severe hyperinflation and economic depression, as well as rising anti-Semitism, Jack and Hannah both immigrated to America in the 1920s. The existence of a robust family network aided Jack and Hannah Levy’s integration into American life and played a crucial role in their later business success. Together, they founded and developed Fashion Bar, one of the more important regional chain store operations in the American West, and Hannah earned a national reputation as one of the most savvy women retailers in the United States.
TermsA-Z, Encyclopedia, Entries, Female Entrepreneurs, First Generation, German-Jewish, L, Midwest, Retail, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945,
Page DescriptionAdolph Lewisohn was a Hamburg-born German-American businessman who, together with his brother Leonard, once led one of the most important and profitable copper companies in the United States
TeaserAdolph Lewisohn was a Hamburg-born German-American businessman who, together with his brother Leonard, once led one of the most important and profitable copper companies in the United States
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, German-Jewish, L, Metals and Mining, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain West, Philanthropy,
TeaserAlfred Lion immigrated to the United States in 1936 and went on to found one of the world’s foremost jazz record labels, Blue Note Records with his longtime friend Francis Wolff.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entertainment Industry, Entries, First Generation, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, German-Jewish, L, Mid-Atlantic,
Article TitleLiving the American Dream? The Challenge of Writing Biographies of German-American Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Page TitleLiving the American Dream? The Challenge of Writing Biographies of German-American Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Short TitleLiving the American Dream? The Challenge of Writing Biographies of German-American Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Index TitleLiving the American Dream? The Challenge of Writing Biographies of German-American Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Page Keywords
Page DescriptionBiographies of businesspeople offer a new integrative perspective not only to trace the lives, careers, and business ventures of significant immigrants but to answer core questions of American, business, and migration history in a new way. The Immigrant Entrepreneurship project aims to explore hundreds of biographies; the sheer amount of this material has made clear that biographies can be used not only to analyze individual lives but also to address general questions in the history of capitalism and modernity.
TeaserBiographies of businesspeople offer a new integrative perspective not only to trace the lives, careers, and business ventures of significant immigrants but to answer core questions of American, business, and migration history in a new way. The Immigrant Entrepreneurship project aims to explore hundreds of biographies; the sheer amount of this material has made clear that biographies can be used not only to analyze individual lives but also to address general questions in the history of capitalism and modernity.
TermsA-Z, Encyclopedia, Entries, From the Colonial Economy to Early Industrialization, 1720-1840, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, L, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945, The Emergence of an Industrial Nation, 1840-1893, Thematic Essays,
TeaserDespite not belonging to one of the elite New York Jewish banking families, Carl Morris Loeb became president of American Metal Company and later established his own investment firm Carl M. Loeb & Co.
TermsA-Z, Banking and Finance, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, German-Jewish, L, Metals and Mining, Mid-Atlantic, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945,
Page DescriptionAs a pioneer of the mass-entertainment industry of the early twentieth century, Marcus Loew engaged in everything from penny arcades to nickelodeons, vaudeville, and silent film.
TeaserAs a pioneer of the mass-entertainment industry of the early twentieth century, Marcus Loew engaged in everything from penny arcades to nickelodeons, vaudeville, and silent film.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entertainment Industry, Entries, M, Mid-Atlantic, Second Generation, The Age of the World Wars, 1918-1945,
Page DescriptionChristopher Ludwig was one of the most successful German immigrant entrepreneurs in the British North American colonies and later the United States during the late eighteenth century. Following his arrival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1754, Ludwig converted his savings and culinary skills into a bakery and confectionary shop in the Letitia Court district. The enterprise thrived, which allowed Ludwig to expand his bakeshop and branch out into other business endeavors. Within two decades Ludwig had amassed significant wealth that included ownership of numerous properties in the region.
TeaserChristopher Ludwig was one of the most successful German immigrant entrepreneurs in the British North American colonies and later the United States during the late eighteenth century. Following his arrival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1754, Ludwig converted his savings and culinary skills into a bakery and confectionary shop in the Letitia Court district. The enterprise thrived, which allowed Ludwig to expand his bakeshop and branch out into other business endeavors. Within two decades Ludwig had amassed significant wealth that included ownership of numerous properties in the region.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Clubs and Ethnic Societies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, Food and Food Processing, From the Colonial Economy to Early Industrialization, 1720-1840, L, Mid-Atlantic, Philanthropy, Protestant, Real Estate,
TeaserIndustrialist Edward Mallinckrodt Sr. achieved success in the chemical manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries through a combination of factors that included strong connections to Germany, an awareness of the broader business environment, and an ability to formulate innovative responses to technological and economic changes.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Chemical Industry, Encyclopedia, Entries, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, M, Midwest, Pharmaceutical Industry, Second Generation,
Page DescriptionFredericka Mandelbaum was born on March 25, 1825, in the central German city of Kassel. She settled in New York City in 1850 during the large, midcentury wave of German and Irish immigration to the United States. Mandelbaum arrived poor and, starting as a peddler, built a successful business as a criminal entrepreneur, the most noted “fence,” or receiver of stolen property, of her time, achieving success and fame from the 1860s through the early 1880s.
TeaserFredericka Mandelbaum was born on March 25, 1825, in the central German city of Kassel. She settled in New York City in 1850 during the large, midcentury wave of German and Irish immigration to the United States. Mandelbaum arrived poor and, starting as a peddler, built a successful business as a criminal entrepreneur, the most noted “fence,” or receiver of stolen property, of her time, achieving success and fame from the 1860s through the early 1880s.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, Female Entrepreneurs, German-Jewish, Illicit Entrepreneurship, M, Mid-Atlantic, The Emergence of an Industrial Nation, 1840-1893,
TeaserC.F. Martin and Company closely resembles a classic German Mittelstand enterprise set down in Pennsylvania’s lush and rolling Lehigh Valley. Founded in 1833 by German immigrant Christian Frederick Martin, today the acoustic guitar manufacturer is run by the the sixth generation of his family.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Craft and Artisanal Industries, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, M, Manufacturing, Mid-Atlantic, Musical Instruments, The Emergence of an Industrial Nation, 1840-1893,
Page DescriptionThe founder of the May Department Store chain, David May was one of the most influential businessmen and philanthropists in early Denver.
TeaserThe founder of the May Department Store chain, David May was one of the most influential businessmen and philanthropists in early Denver.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, From the End of the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1893-1918, German-Jewish, M, Mountain West, Philanthropy, Retail,
TeaserWilliam A. Menger, the son of a master miller in Hanau, Electorate of Hesse, came to prominence as one of the most successful business owners in the frontier state of Texas in the 1860s and 1870s. His Menger hotel, a tourist staple in San Antonio to this day, was a vital and elegant dwelling that catered to military and civilian travelers alike, and housed the largest brewery in the state of Texas for decades.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Brewing, Catholic, Encyclopedia, Entries, First Generation, Hospitality Industry, M, Service Industry, Southeast, The Emergence of an Industrial Nation, 1840-1893,
Page DescriptionSue Mengers emerged as a powerful Hollywood agent in the late 1960s and 1970s, a time of enormous challenges and transformation in the film industry, as independent-minded stars and directors took greater control over their projects, a tactic enhanced by the innovative work of agents like Mengers.
TeaserSue Mengers emerged as a powerful Hollywood agent in the late 1960s and 1970s, a time of enormous challenges and transformation in the film industry, as independent-minded stars and directors took greater control over their projects, a tactic enhanced by the innovative work of agents like Mengers.
TermsA-Z, Biographies, Encyclopedia, Entertainment Industry, Entries, Female Entrepreneurs, First Generation, From the Postwar Boom to Global Capitalism, 1945-Today, German-Jewish, M, Pacific West,
Article TitleMerchants of Migration: Keeping the German Atlantic Connected in America’s Early National Period
Page TitleMerchants of Migration: Keeping the German Atlantic Connected in America’s Early National Period
Short TitleMerchants of Migration: Keeping the German Atlantic Connected in America’s Early National Period
Index TitleMerchants of Migration: Keeping the German Atlantic Connected in America’s Early National Period
Page Keywords
Page Description
TeaserThis essay examines how, in the period 1800-1820, merchant practices refined during the colonial era helped to bring thousands of Germans to the New World, in a period before regular commercial shipping between Germany and the United States could furnish large-scale immigration.
TermsA-Z, Encyclopedia, Entries, From the Colonial Economy to Early Industrialization, 1720-1840, M, Migration, Thematic Essays, Transportation,
