Henry J. Heinz | |
|---|---|
 Heinzc. 1914 | |
| Born | Henry John Heinz (1844-10-11)October 11, 1844 Birmingham, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 14, 1919(1919-05-14) (aged 74) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Burial place | Homewood Cemetery |
| Occupation | Business magnate |
| Known for | The creator oftomato ketchup |
| Title | Founder ofH. J. Heinz Company |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Trump family |
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Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844[1] – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded theH. J. Heinz Company ofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. He was involved in the passage of the 1906Pure Food and Drug Act. Many of his descendants are known for philanthropy and involvement in politics and public affairs. His fortune became the basis for theHeinz Foundations.
Henry John Heinz was born inBirmingham, Pennsylvania, to John Henry Heinz (1811–1891) and Anna Margaretha Schmidt (1822–1899). John Henry was born Johann Heinrich Heinz to parents Johann Georg and Charlotte Louisa (née Trump) Heinz of theTrump family inKallstadt of thePalatinate, which at that time was part of theKingdom of Bavaria. In 1840, John Henry emigrated to Birmingham, where he got a job making bricks and then met and married Anna in 1843, who herself had recently emigrated fromKruspis [de] (today a part ofHaunetal),Hesse-Kassel.[2][3] Then when Henry was five years old, his parents moved to Sharpsburg where Henry’s father went into the brick making business for himself. Anna Schmidt was the daughter of a farmer and church administrator, Johann Adam Schmidt, and Dorothea (Thiel) Schmidt.[a] Anna came from Hesse-Kassel, which was aReformedProtestant (Calvinist) territory, so she was raised in the Calvinist Christian faith.[5] Anna's husband, John Heinz, was aLutheran, and they raised and confirmed their son to that faith.[2][3][6]
Henry John Heinz began packing foodstuffs on a small scale atSharpsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1869. There, he founded Heinz Noble & Company with a friend, L. Clarence Noble, and started marketing bottledhorseradish, soon followed bysauerkraut,vinegar, andpickles. The company went bankrupt in 1875. The following year, Heinz founded another company, F & J Heinz, with his brother John Heinz and a cousin, Frederick Heinz.[7]
The company grew and, in 1888, Heinz bought out his other two partners and reorganized it as theH. J. Heinz Company, the name carried to the present day. The company was incorporated in 1905, with Heinz serving as its first president and retaining that position for the rest of his life.[7]
The company's slogan, "57 varieties," was introduced by Heinz in 1896, though by then, the company was selling more than 60 different products.[8] Heinz said he chose "5" because it was hislucky number, while "7" was his wife's lucky number.[9]
At the time of Heinz's death in Pittsburgh at the age of 74, the H. J. Heinz Company had more than 20food processing plants and owned seed farms and container factories.[citation needed]
Heinz led a successful lobbying effort in favor of thePure Food and Drug Act in 1906.[10] DuringWorld War I, he worked with theFood Administration.[11] He was a director in many financial institutions, and was chairman of a committee to devise ways of protecting Pittsburgh from floods.[11]
Heinz married Sarah Sloan Young on September 3, 1869.[2] She was ofScots-Irish ancestry and had grown up in the Presbyterian Church. They had five children:[12]
They were raised as Presbyterians.
Later in life Heinz worshipped as a member ofMethodist andPresbyterian churches, and worked closely withBaptists as well.[2]
When Heinz visitedEngland, his "tourist stops" included the graves of religious leadersJohn Bunyan,Isaac Watts, andJohn Wesley. He visited a chapel that Wesley founded, later writing that "I felt I was upon holy ground."[14] At the beginning of his will Heinz wrote: "I desire to set forth, at the very beginning of this Will, as the most important item in it, a confession of my faith inJesus Christ as my Savior."[15]
Heinz died at his home on May 14, 1919, after contractingpneumonia. It took 2-3 days until someone found his corpse. His funeral was atEast Liberty Presbyterian Church. He was buried atHomewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, in the Heinz FamilyMausoleum.[2][3][16]
A bronze statue of Heinz byEmil Fuchs was dedicated on October 11, 1924, at the Heinz Company building in Pittsburgh.[17]
Heinz is the grandfather ofH. J. Heinz II (1908–1987) the great-grandfather ofU.S. SenatorH. John Heinz III (1938–1991) ofPennsylvania (who was later buried in the same family mausoleum), and great-great grandfather of Henry John Heinz IV,André Thierstein Heinz andChristopher Drake Heinz.[18]
Media related toHenry John Heinz at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related toHenry J. Heinz at Wikiquote
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