Domenico Ghirardelli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Domenico Ghirardelli (1817-02-21)February 21, 1817 |
| Died | January 17, 1894(1894-01-17) (aged 76) |
| Burial place | Mountain View Cemetery |
| Monuments | Ghirardelli Square |
| Education | Romanengo fu Stefano, Genoa |
| Occupation | Chocolatier |
| Known for | founding America's third oldest chocolate company (1852) which was also among the first globally (1860s) to develop and transport soluble ground chocolate for drinking and baking. |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 8 |
Domenico "Domingo"Ghirardelli (Italian pronunciation:[doˈmiŋɡoɡirarˈdɛlli]; February 21, 1817 – January 17, 1894) was an Italian-born chocolatier who was the founder of theGhirardelli Chocolate Company inSan Francisco,California.
Domenico Ghirardelli was born on February 21, 1817,[1] inRapallo, Italy, to Giuseppe and Maddalena (née Ferretto) Ghirardelli.[2]: 1 [3]: 164 His father was a spice merchant inGenoa.[2]: 3 In his teens, he apprenticed at Romanengo, a notedchocolatier in Genoa.[3]: 90–115
In 1838, at about age 20, he moved toUruguay, then toLima,Peru, where he established aconfectionery, where he began using theSpanish equivalent of hisItalian name, Domingo. In 1849, he moved toCalifornia on the recommendation of his former neighbor,James Lick, who had brought 600 lb (270 kg) of chocolate with him toSan Francisco in 1848. Caught up in theCalifornia Gold Rush, he opened his first store in a mining camp to sell sweets and treats to miners who were lacking the small pleasures of life.[4] Ghirardelli spent a few months in thegold fields nearSonora andJamestown, before becoming a merchant inHornitos, California.[5]
In 1852, he moved to San Francisco and established the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company at what would come to be known asGhirardelli Square. According to theSan Francisco Chronicle he is San Francisco's most successful chocolatier.[6]
Around the year 1865, a worker at the Ghirardelli factory discovered that by hanging a bag of groundcacao beans in a warm room, thecocoa butter would drip off, leaving behind a residue that could then be converted into ground chocolate. This technique, known as theBroma process, is now the most common method used for the production of chocolate.[7]
Ghirardelli married Elisabetta Corsini (nicknamed "Bettina"), a native of Italy, in 1837. She died in 1846.[3]: 92
Ghirardelli married Carmen Alvarado Martin (1830–1887) in Lima, Peru, in 1847.[3]: 90–115 [8] Her first husband had been aFrench physician who had been lost at sea,[3]: 164 and she had an eight-month-old child, Carmen.[9] He and Carmen had seven children: Virginia (1847–1867);[a][2]: 3 Domenico Jr. (1849–1932);;[2]: 11 [10] Joseph Nicholas (1852–1906);[11] Elvira (1856–1908);[2]: 16–17 Louis (1857–1902);[2]: 19, 21 Angela (1859–1936);[12] and Eugene Gustave (1860–?).[b][13][2]: 26 Carmen (the mother) died on September 18, 1887.[citation needed]
Ghirardelli was a Freemason, joining the San Francisco French-speaking La Parfaite Union Lodge No. 17 in 1869.[14]
He died on January 17, 1894, in Rapallo, Italy from influenza. His body was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland,[15] California along with the rest of his family.[16]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)Domingo Ghirardelli, Jr. born 1849.
Domenico Ghirardelli, jr. born.
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