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Julius Fleischmann

Julius Fleischmann
Julius Fleischmann
Mayor of Cincinnati
In office
1900–1905
Preceded byGustav Tafel
Succeeded byEdward J. Dempsey
Personal details
Born
Julius Augustus Fleischmann

(1871-06-08)June 8, 1871
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
DiedFebruary 5, 1925(1925-02-05) (aged 53)
Miami, Florida, US
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Lily Ackerland
​
​
(m. 1893; div. 1920)​
[1]
Laura Hemingway
​
​
(m. 1920; div. 1924)​
[2] [3]
Children3[1]
Parent
RelativesElizabeth Holmes (great-great-great-grandniece)
OccupationBusinessman

Julius Augustus Fleischmann (June 8, 1871 – February 5, 1925) was an American businessman, the long-time president of Fleischmann's Yeast, and a former mayor of Cincinnati. A bon vivant, sailor, and sportsman,[5] he was the son of yeast magnate Charles Louis Fleischmann.[3][2]

Biography

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Fleischmann was born in Cincinnati to Austria-Hungarian immigrant, Charles Louis Fleischmann and his Prussian-born wife Henriette Robertson.[6] His family was Jewish.[7]

Julius left college to become general manager of Fleischmann's Yeast in 1894 when he was 22 years old. He became president of the company in 1897, overseeing the company's expansion.[8]

Among the many interests of the Fleischmann family was baseball. In 1898, Fleischman financed the semiprofessional baseball team, the Cincinnati Shamrocks,[9] which included the future Hall of Fame manager Miller Huggins.[10] In 1900, Huggins played for Fleischmann's semiprofessional team based in the Catskill Mountains, the Mountain Tourists.[10] In 1903 Fleischmann was part of a syndicate the purchased the Philadelphia Phillies.[11] Julius Fleischmann was also involved in thoroughbred horses, along with his father and his brother Max, under the name Charles Fleischmann and Sons.[5]

He became Cincinnati's youngest mayor in 1900 aged 28.[1] He was re-elected once,[5] and served until 1905. Under his mayorship, Cincinnati's police force became known as one of the best in the nation.[1] As mayor, Fleischmann promoted education, created public parks, and supported continued investment in local railroad lines.[1] A staunch Republican, Fleischmann later served three times as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.[5]

In May 1914, Fleischmann gave Fleischmanns Park to the village of Fleischmanns, New York. The park, which dominated the north side of Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns, was formerly known as the Mountain Athletic Club. It was where the town's semiprofessional baseball players came to get in shape before the start of the regular season. (One of the town's players was the future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner.) Stipulations of Julius' gift were that it always be used as a park and athletic grounds, that it always be kept in good condition, that it never be sold or sublet, and always be of free access to the public.[1]

Fleischmann was initiated as a national honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity in 1914.[12][5]

He died of heart disease on February 5, 1925, while playing polo in Miami.

Personal life and family

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Fleischmann was married two times, to Lily Ackerland from 1893 to 1920, with whom he had three children, and secondly to Laura G. Hemingway from 1920 until 1924.[2][3]

His son, Julius Fleischmann Jr. (1900–1968)[4] was among other things a philanthropist who founded World Art Inc. (directed by Serge Denham), an organization devoted to sponsoring cultural organizations. In 1937, World Art financed the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, which launched its first season in 1938.[13] His other son was Charles Fleischmann II (1895-1917), who died in plane crash in Long Island City, New York.[citation needed]

His daughter, Louise Fleischmann (1894-1987) wife of Henry C. Yeiser, took out a then-record $3.25 million insurance policy against her inheritance.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Klieger, P. Christiaan. "Julius Fleischmann," The Fleischmann Yeast Family (Arcadia Publishing, 2004), pp. 31–36.
  2. ^ a b c "Ex-Mayor, Said to Have Settled $2,000,000 on Former Wife, to Marry Mrs. Hemingway Today". The New York Times. January 23, 1920. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Julius Fleiscnmann, former Mayor of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Laura G. Hemingway of 176 West Seventy-second Street, will be married today by the Rev. H.C. Wasmund of St. Paul's. Lutheran Church, Brooklyn.
  3. ^ a b c "Divorced". Time. July 21, 1924. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Julius Fleischmann (yeast), onetime Mayor of Cincinnati, by Laura Heminway Fleischmann; in Paris. Her friendship for Jay O'Brien, "Broadway (Manhattan) King of Hearts" and onetime husband of Mae Murray and Irene Fenwick, was said to have precipitated the decree.
  4. ^ a b "Julius Fleischmann Dies at 68; Stage Producer and Art Patron," The New York Times (October 24, 1968).
  5. ^ a b c d e "Died". Time. February 16, 1925. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2010. Julius Fleischmann, 53, famed philanthropist, sportsman; in Miami, Fla. He dropped dead of heart disease while engaged in a game of polo. Son of Charles Fleischmann, founder of the famed Fleischmann Yeast Co., Mr. Fleischmann was elected Mayor of Cincinnati when he was 28, was reflected for a second term in 1903, was asked to run for a third, was three times thereafter a delegate to Republican National Conventions. He owned a large yacht, was a member of several yacht clubs, a polo player, onetime owner of a string of celebrated racehorses, one time part owner of the Cincinnati Base ball Club.
  6. ^ Beresford, Hattie. "MOGULS & MANSIONS : MAJOR MAX C. FLEISCHMANN," Montecito Journal vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter/Spring 2009/2010). Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  7. ^ Miller, Zane L. (2000). Boss Cox's Cincinnati: Urban Politics in the Progressive Era. Ohio State University Press. ISBN 9780814208618.
  8. ^ "Morgan Mergers". Time. 1929. Archived from the original on June 18, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2008. But also announced last week was a Morgan-managed merger of Fleischmann Co., Royal Baking Powder Co., and E. W. Gillett, Ltd. ... No transportation problem existed in 1868 when Charles and Maximilian Fleischmann, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, and James Gaff of Cincinnati, founded Gaff, Fleischmann & Co. at Riverside, Ohio. Their first great forward step was made in 1876 when they exhibited a Model Vienna Bakery at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. From the fame of this exhibit came an increased demand for Fleischmann's yeast. Soon there was a Fleischmann plant on Long Island, then another at Peekskill, N. Y, Guiding spirit of the early Fleischmann company was Charles Fleischmann, who died in 1897. It was under the leadership (1897–1925) of the late Julius Fleischmann that the company went through its major expansion period. Following his death, his brother, Major Max C. Fleischmann, stepped to the front.
  9. ^ Grayson, Harry (June 5, 1943). "Huggins Excelled As Lead-Off Man". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 8. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Koppett, Leonard (2000). The Man in the Dugout: Baseball's Top Managers and How They Got That Way. Temple University Press. p. 83. ISBN 1-56639-745-6. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  11. ^ "Society in Baseball". The New York Times. March 1, 1903.
  12. ^ "Julius Fleischmann Dies Playing Polo in Tourney at Miami. Head of Yeast Firm, Stricken in Saddle, Dismounts and Falls Dead of Heart Disease. Teammates Rush To Him But Reach His Side Too Late to Aid. Body to Be Sent North in Private Car. Twice Mayor of Cincinnati. Financier, Philanthropist, Sportsman, Had Lived in New York in Recent Years". The New York Times. February 6, 1925. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Julius Fleischmann, President of the Fleischmann Yeast Company, prominent in financial, philanthropic, social and sporting activities, fell dead here today on the Nautilus Polo Field while engaged in a game of polo. He was in his fifty-third year.
  13. ^ "Blum Ballet Sold to Company Here," The New York Times (November 20, 1937).
  14. ^ "Business: Business Notes, Jan. 17, 1927". Time. January 17, 1927. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
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