Today is the birthday of Fritz Funke (April 4, 1821-April 23, 1994). He was the son of a mason and went into construction, and owned to companies and was very successful. Along with Johann Wilhelm Schürenberg, entrepreneur Ewald Hilger, businessman Gustav Hicking, and banker Ludwig von Born, he founded what would become the Stern-Brauerei in the city of Essen. Originally called Actien-Bierbrauerei when it was founded in 1872, and Funke’s construction company built the brewery.

The brewery closed in 1989. Today, the beer is brewed in the Jacob Stauder private brewery in Altenessen and continues to be sold under the old Stern brand name.