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Adolphus Busch

Born: 10-Jul-1839
Birthplace: Mainz-Kastel, Germany
Died: 10-Oct-1913
Location of death: Langenschwalbach, Germany
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Buried, Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Made Anheuser's brewery profitable

Military service: Union Army (Civil War, 1861-62, Col.)

Adolphus Busch was a German immigrant to America, who brought with him brewery experience and big ideas. The youngest of twenty-one children, he fought for the Union in the Civil War, then gained a small inheritance from his father's death, and used those funds to open a brewers' supply store in St Louis. Within a year he married the daughter of Eberhard Anheuser, who owned a struggling brewery. Young Busch was soon hired and became the brains of the operation, almost immediately expanding their product's distribution beyond the state of Missouri. Within a few years he was virtually running Anheuser & Company, and with his father-in-law's death in 1879 he became President of the newly rechristened Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association.

His brightest idea, after marrying the boss's daughter, was the early adoption of pasteurization technology, which allowed huge quantities of beer to be shipped long distances without need for refrigeration. He also changed the name of the company's flagship product from Bohemian Beer to Budweiser in 1891, and added the more expensive (and more profitable) Michelob in 1896. By 1901 Anheuser-Busch was producing more beer than any other American brewery.

With his beer-derived wealth, Busch bought the American rights to Rudolf Diesel's invention, and established the Busch-Zulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company to manufacture America's first diesel engines. He was also known for his philanthropy, giving large donations to Harvard and Washington universities, and sending substantial relief funds to San Francisco after that city's great earthquake of 1906.

Father: Ulrich Busch (wine dealer)
Mother: Barbara Pfeiffer Busch
Wife: Lilly Eberhard Anheuser (m. 1861)
Son: August Anheuser Busch
Son: Adolphus Busch Jr.
Son: Carl Busch

    High School: Mainz Gymnasium, Mainz-Kastel, Germany
    University: Collegiate Institute in Belgium

    Anheuser-Busch (1866-)
    Naturalized US Citizen 1867


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