Today is the birthday of Henry Uihlein (May 13, 1844-April 22, 1922). He was born in Bavaria, but moved to the U.S. when he was eighteen, in 1862, having learned the brewing trade in Germany. He joined his uncle, August Krug, and his brothers, working for the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. He was president of Schlitz from 1875 until he retired in 1916.
This is the only photo I could find of Henry, in this Uihlein family photo from the early 1880’s – bottom row, from left; Charles, superintendent of the bottling works; Edward, vice president in charge of developing the Chicago markets; Henry, president. Top row, from left; William J., assistant superintendent of the brewery; Alfred, superintendent and brewmaster; August, secretary and chief operating officer.
This Schlitz ad is from around 1900, when Henry was president of the brewery.
This is the Google translation of his German Wikipedia page:
Henry Uihlein was the second eldest of six sons of Joseph Benedict Ühlein and his wife Katharina Krug born in Wertheim, the restaurant, the Gasthaus zur Krone operated.
In Bavaria, Henry Uihlein learned the brewing trade before emigrating to the United States in 1862. There he worked for several years for various breweries in St. Louis and for the Kunz Brewing Company in Leavenworth. In 1871 he moved to Milwaukee and began working with his brothers August, Alfred and Edward for the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Henry’s brewing expertise contributed significantly to the company’s success. He led the company between 1875 and 1916 as president. He also worked in finance, real estate and other industries.
This is Uihlein’s obituary from the Beverage Journal (f.k.a. The Western Brewer) from 1922:
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