Adolphus Busch
Encyclopedia
Colonel Adolphus Busch (10 July 1839–10 October 1913) was the German
-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch
with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser
. His great-great-grandson, August Busch IV
is now on the board of Anheuser-Busch InBev
.
, then a district of Mainz
in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
. He was the second youngest of 22 siblings. The family worked in winery and brewery supplies. He attended the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels, and left his home in 1857 with three of his brothers for St Louis
; Johann, who established a brewery in Washington, Missouri
, Ulrich, Jr, who married another daughter of Eberhard Anheuser and settled in Chicago
and Anton, a hops dealer that later returned home to Mainz.
His first job in St Louis was working as a clerk in the commission house. He was also an employee at William Hainrichshofen's wholesale company.
He became acquainted with Lilly Anheuser, whose parents had a small brewery which her father Eberhard Anheuser
acquired in 1860, renaming it from the Bavarian Brewery to the E. Anheuser Brewery.
He married 17 year old Lilly Eberhard Anheuser on 7 March 1861 in St Louis
. They had thirteen children; eight sons, including Adolphus Busch II, August Anheuser Busch I and Carl Busch, and five daughters.
During the American Civil War
he served in the United States Army
for 14 months. It was at this time that he learned that his father had died and that he had inherited a portion of his father's estate. He used the money to start a wholesale brewer's supply store, and four years later he bought a share in the Bavarian brewery from Eberhard Anheuser
, his father-in-law. The company was first called "Anheuser and Company", but at the death of Eberhard Anheuser in 1880, it was changed to "Anheuser Busch Company".
The rapid success of the Anheuser Brewer made its owner independent and permitted him to perform philanthropic activities, such as assisting in the repair of the devastating 1882 flooding of Kastel-Mainz by the Rhine River.
In 1891 Adolphus bought from Carl Conrad the trademark and name Budweiser
.
He envisioned a national beer with universal appeal. Toward this end, he created a network of rail-side ice-houses and launched the industry’s first fleet of refrigerated freight cars. However, throughout his life, he referred to his beer as "that slop" and instead drank wine. Success came when Adolphus implemented pasteurization as a way to keep the beer fresh for longer periods of time. The beer could now be shipped all over the country. He was also an early adopter of bottled beer. In 1901 sales surpassed the one million barrels of beer benchmark.
In 1912, Busch constructed the Adolphus Hotel
in Dallas, Texas
, then the tallest building in the state.
The Busches often traveled to Germany where they had a mansion, the Villa Lilly, which was named for Mrs Busch, in Lindschied
near Langenschwalbach
, in present-day Bad Schwalbach
.
He died there in Lindschied
in 1913 while on vacation. He had been suffering from dropsy since 1906. His body was brought back in 1915 by ship to the United States and then a train to St. Louis and he was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery
in St. Louis.
Adolphus Busch also built a series of buildings in downtown Dallas
. One of which was the Busch Building, now known as the Kirby Residences, located at 1509 Main St. It is a national historic landmark.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser was a German-born soap and candle maker as well as the father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company. He and two of his brothers moved to America in 1842. He was a major creditor of the Bavarian Brewery Company, a struggling brewery founded in 1853...
. His great-great-grandson, August Busch IV
August Busch IV
August Anheuser Busch IV is the former CEO of Anheuser-Busch who ended the family control of the company in 2008 when it was sold to InBev.-Early life:...
is now on the board of Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
.
Biography
Busch was born in 1839 in KastelMainz-Kastel
Mainz-Kastel is a district administered by the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Mainz-Kastel was formerly a district of the city of Mainz, until the public administration by the city of Wiesbaden was decided on August 10, 1945...
, then a district of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
. He was the second youngest of 22 siblings. The family worked in winery and brewery supplies. He attended the Collegiate Institute of Belgium in Brussels, and left his home in 1857 with three of his brothers for St Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
; Johann, who established a brewery in Washington, Missouri
Washington, Missouri
Washington is a city on the Missouri River in Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,243 at the 2000 census. It is the corn cob pipe capital of the world, with Missouri Meerschaum located in Washington.-Geography:...
, Ulrich, Jr, who married another daughter of Eberhard Anheuser and settled in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Anton, a hops dealer that later returned home to Mainz.
His first job in St Louis was working as a clerk in the commission house. He was also an employee at William Hainrichshofen's wholesale company.
He became acquainted with Lilly Anheuser, whose parents had a small brewery which her father Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser was a German-born soap and candle maker as well as the father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company. He and two of his brothers moved to America in 1842. He was a major creditor of the Bavarian Brewery Company, a struggling brewery founded in 1853...
acquired in 1860, renaming it from the Bavarian Brewery to the E. Anheuser Brewery.
He married 17 year old Lilly Eberhard Anheuser on 7 March 1861 in St Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. They had thirteen children; eight sons, including Adolphus Busch II, August Anheuser Busch I and Carl Busch, and five daughters.
During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
for 14 months. It was at this time that he learned that his father had died and that he had inherited a portion of his father's estate. He used the money to start a wholesale brewer's supply store, and four years later he bought a share in the Bavarian brewery from Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser
Eberhard Anheuser was a German-born soap and candle maker as well as the father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company. He and two of his brothers moved to America in 1842. He was a major creditor of the Bavarian Brewery Company, a struggling brewery founded in 1853...
, his father-in-law. The company was first called "Anheuser and Company", but at the death of Eberhard Anheuser in 1880, it was changed to "Anheuser Busch Company".
In 1891 Adolphus bought from Carl Conrad the trademark and name Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
.
He envisioned a national beer with universal appeal. Toward this end, he created a network of rail-side ice-houses and launched the industry’s first fleet of refrigerated freight cars. However, throughout his life, he referred to his beer as "that slop" and instead drank wine. Success came when Adolphus implemented pasteurization as a way to keep the beer fresh for longer periods of time. The beer could now be shipped all over the country. He was also an early adopter of bottled beer. In 1901 sales surpassed the one million barrels of beer benchmark.
In 1912, Busch constructed the Adolphus Hotel
Adolphus Hotel
The Hotel Adolphus is an upscale hotel and Dallas Landmark in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas which was for several years the tallest building in the state of Texas.- History :...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, then the tallest building in the state.
The Busches often traveled to Germany where they had a mansion, the Villa Lilly, which was named for Mrs Busch, in Lindschied
Lindschied
Lindschied is a small town near Bad Schwalbach in Hesse, Germany. The town lies in the hills of the Taunus and has about 600 inhabitants.In the time of the Roman Empire, the border-wall called Limes went through Lindschied's boundaries...
near Langenschwalbach
Bad Schwalbach
Bad Schwalbach is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany.- Geographic Location :Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465 m above sea level in the Taunus, along the small river Aar...
, in present-day Bad Schwalbach
Bad Schwalbach
Bad Schwalbach is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany.- Geographic Location :Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465 m above sea level in the Taunus, along the small river Aar...
.
He died there in Lindschied
Lindschied
Lindschied is a small town near Bad Schwalbach in Hesse, Germany. The town lies in the hills of the Taunus and has about 600 inhabitants.In the time of the Roman Empire, the border-wall called Limes went through Lindschied's boundaries...
in 1913 while on vacation. He had been suffering from dropsy since 1906. His body was brought back in 1915 by ship to the United States and then a train to St. Louis and he was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery
Bellefontaine and Calvary Cemeteries
Bellefontaine Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri are adjacent burial grounds, which have numerous historic and extravagant tombstones and mausoleums. They are the necropolis for a number of prominent local and state politicians, as well as soldiers of the...
in St. Louis.
Legacy
The Adolphus Busch is also an intentionally sunk ship off of the middle Florida Keys. Adolphus Busch IV contributed nearly $200,000 to the procurement of this vessel and its preparation for sinking as an artificial reef. As a result, the vessel was named in his honor. Today it is a marine habitat and popular dive site.Adolphus Busch also built a series of buildings in downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District in Dallas, Texas USA, located in the geographic center of the city. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally been defined as bounded by the downtown freeway loop: bounded on the east by I-345 Downtown Dallas is the Central Business District...
. One of which was the Busch Building, now known as the Kirby Residences, located at 1509 Main St. It is a national historic landmark.