August Uihlein

{{Short description|German-American brewer, business executive, and horse breeder}}

{{Infobox person

| name = August Uihlein

| image = August Uihlein.jpg

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| birth_date = {{birth date|1842|08|25}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette-death-of-leading/125468328/ |title=Death of Leading Milwaukee Brewer |newspaper=Green Bay Press-Gazette |page=6 |date=October 12, 1911 |accessdate=May 28, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}

| birth_place = Wertheim am Main, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Confederation

| death_date = {{death date and age|1911|10|11|1842|08|25}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-prominent-brewer-dead/125468020/ |title=Prominent Brewer Dead |newspaper=New-York Tribune |page=7 |date=October 12, 1911 |accessdate=May 28, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}

| death_place = Heligoland, Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire

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| education = German-English Academy

| alma mater = St. Louis University

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| occupation = Businessman

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| children = 3 sons including Joseph E. Uihlein, 3 daughters

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| relatives = Uihlein family

}}

Georg Karl August Uihlein (August 25, 1842 – October 11, 1911) was a German-American brewer, business executive, and horse breeder.

Early life

August Uihlein was born Georg Karl August Ühlein{{Cite web |title=A Classification of American Wealth : History and genealogy of the wealthy families of America |url=http://www.raken.com/american_wealth/encyclopedia/profile.asp?code=9730 |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=www.raken.com}} in 1842 in Wertheim am Main, Grand Duchy of Baden, which is now in Germany. Among his siblings were brothers Henry Uihlein{{cite news|title=Mrs M. Rohnert's Uncle Is Dead. August Uihlein, of Milwaukee, is Suddenly Stricken in Switzerland.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119659472/?terms=%22August%2BUihlein%22|accessdate=May 29, 2016|work=Detroit Free Press|location=Detroit, Michigan|date=October 12, 1911|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=1}} and Edward Uihlein.

His family had for years kept the Gasthaus zur Krone, an inn. In 1850, the Tauber River flooded, filling the inn's basement. Uihlein's grandfather, George Krug, offered to take his oldest grandson with him to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States, where Krug's son, August Krug, had a tavern and brewery. During the trip from Wertheim, their ship caught fire in the mid-Atlantic. Krug and Uihlein clasped a wooden box until rescued by sailors of the American bark, Devonshire.

In Milwaukee, Uihlein attended the German-English Academy. He also attended St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1855 to 1857.

Career

Uihlein worked in the Uhrig Brewery in St. Louis from 1857 to 1867. Returning to Milwaukee in 1867, he joined what was then the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, formerly the Krug Brewery founded by his uncle August Krug in the 1840s.{{efn|Krug's widow, Anna Maria, had married Joseph Schlitz in 1858.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-milwaukee-news-legal-notices/125465247/ |title=Legal Notices |newspaper=The Daily Milwaukee News |page=7 |date=October 4, 1868 |accessdate=May 28, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}}}

On the death of Schlitz in 1875, control of the firm passed into the hands of Uihlein and his brothers.{{cite news|title=Prominent Brewer Dead. August Uihlein, Head of Schlitz Company, Dies in Heligoland.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79212318/?terms=%22August%2BUihlein%22|accessdate=May 29, 2016|work=The New York Tribune|page=7|date=October 12, 1911|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} When Mrs. Schlitz died in 1887, the Uihlein brothers acquired complete ownership of the corporation. Uihlein was secretary and chairman of the board (1874–1911). He was also actively involved in banking, real estate, and many other Milwaukee businesses.

Horse breeding and philanthropy

Interested in purebred racehorses, he kept a large stock farm at Truesdell, Wisconsin, near Kenosha. He was the owner of Harvester.{{cite news|title=August Uihlein Dead.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/144683046/?terms=%22August%2BUihlein%22|accessdate=May 29, 2016|work=Asbury Park Press|location=Asbury Park, New Jersey|date=October 12, 1911|page=8|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} Uihlein donated large sums to the German-English Academy and to the Milwaukee Public Library.

Personal life

Uihlein had three sons, Erwin, Joseph, and Robert, and three daughters, Ida Pabst, Mrs W. C. Brumder, and Paula Uihlein. Ida, his eldest daughter, was married to Frederick Pabst Jr., son of brewer Frederick Pabst.{{Cite web |date=2019-09-13 |title=Pabst Mansion - Pabst Mansion - Blog |url=https://www.pabstmansion.com/2019/09/brewing-families-unite/ |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=Pabst Mansion |language=en}} He was widowed in 1910, and moved to Heligoland, Germany to rest with family members. He celebrated his 69th birthday in Switzerland.

Uihlein died in 1911 in Heligoland, Germany, whose then-ruler was Kaiser Wilhelm II. By the time of his death, he was worth an estimated US$4 million, which was split among his six children.{{cite news|title=Will of Wealthy Brewer.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/91021889/?terms=%22August%2BUihlein%22|accessdate=May 29, 2016|work=The Decatur Herald|location=Decatur, Illinois|date=November 23, 1911|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration |page=1}}