# Charles Louis Fleischmann

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Hungarian-American manufacturer (1835–1897)

For the American politician, see [Chuck Fleischmann](/source/Chuck_Fleischmann).

Charles Louis Fleischmann 1902 illustration of Fleischmann Born (1835-11-03)November 3, 1835 Jägerndorf, Moravian Silesia Died December 10, 1897(1897-12-10) (aged 62) Known for Founding Fleischmann Yeast Company Spouse Henriette Robertson Children 3, including Julius Relatives Christian R. Holmes II (grandson), Elizabeth Holmes (third great-great-granddaughter)

**Charles Louis Fleischmann** (November 3, 1835 – December 10, 1897) was a Jewish Hungarian-American manufacturer of [yeast](/source/Yeast) who founded [Fleischmann Yeast Company](/source/Fleischmann's_Yeast).

In the late 1860s, he and his brother Maximilian created America’s first commercially produced yeast, which revolutionized [baking](/source/Baking) in a way that made today's mass production and consumption of [bread](/source/Bread) possible.

## Life and work

A native of [Jägerndorf](/source/Krnov) ([Czech](/source/Czech_language): *[Krnov](/source/Krnov)*), [Moravian Silesia](/source/Austrian_Silesia), Charles Fleischmann was the son of Alois (or Abraham) Fleischmann, a Jewish distiller and yeast maker, and Babette.[1] He was educated in [Budapest](/source/Budapest), Hungary, [Vienna](/source/Vienna), and [Prague](/source/Prague). He was [Hungarian](/source/Hungarians) and married the [Prussian](/source/Prussia) Henriette Robertson in New York.[2] He then managed a distillery in [Vienna](/source/Vienna), where he produced [spirits](/source/Distilled_spirit) and yeast. In 1865, Fleischmann came to the United States, and was disappointed in the quality of locally baked bread in the [Cincinnati, Ohio](/source/Cincinnati%2C_Ohio), region. The brothers, along with another business partner named James Gaff, founded what became the [Fleischmann Yeast Company](/source/Fleischmann's_Yeast) in [Riverside, Cincinnati](/source/Riverside%2C_Cincinnati), in 1868.[3]

In 1876, they exhibited a *Model Vienna Bakery* at the [Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia](/source/Centennial_Exposition), which brought international publicity and sales exposure to the fledgling company, and yeast sales dramatically increased. Eventually, Fleischmann would own 14 manufacturing facilities.[4] Charles' son Max commuted to New York headquarters from his home in Santa Barbara, California, by private railcar.[5]

The company still exists today as a [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis)-based producer of yeast and other products. The Fleischmann Yeast Company eventually became the world's leading yeast producer and the second largest in the production of [vinegar](/source/Vinegar). It was also a commercial producer of [gin](/source/Gin), under the Fleischmann brand name. When [prohibition](/source/Prohibition) interfered with liquor sales, the Fleischmanns developed a new market for yeast, investigating its possible health benefits for skin and digestion, and promoting it as a good source of [vitamins](/source/Vitamins). They hired the [J. Walter Thompson Company](/source/J._Walter_Thompson_Company), who created a health food [fad](/source/Fad) for yeast cakes.[6]

Charles Fleischmann is responsible for numerous mechanical [patents](/source/Patent) involving yeast production machinery. He helped to organize the Market National Bank and became its president from 1887 until his death in 1897. He was buried in [Spring Grove Cemetery](/source/Spring_Grove_Cemetery) in a mausoleum based on the [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon).[7] His son, [Julius Fleischmann](/source/Julius_Fleischmann), later served as the mayor of Cincinnati.

## Legacy

Charles Fleischmann was inducted into the American Society of Baking’s Baking Hall of Fame on March 3, 2008, at the society's annual meeting in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois).

Fleischmann's son, [Julius Augustus Fleischmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Augustus_Fleischmann&action=edit&redlink=1) (June 8, 1871 – February 5, 1925) was an American businessman, the long-time president of [Fleischmann's Yeast](/source/Fleischmann's_Yeast), and a former [mayor of Cincinnati](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Cincinnati). The bon vivant, sailor, and sportsman was the youngest mayor by the year 1900 and later served three times as a [delegate](/source/Delegate_(American_politics)) to the [Republican National Convention](/source/Republican_National_Convention).[8]

Fleischmann's grandson, [Julius Fleischmann, Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Fleischmann,_Jr.&action=edit&redlink=1) (1900–1968) was among other things a philanthropist who founded World Art, Inc. (directed by [Serge Denham](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serge_Denham&action=edit&redlink=1)), an organization devoted to sponsoring cultural organizations. In 1937, World Art financed the [Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo](/source/Ballet_Russe_de_Monte_Carlo), which launched its first season in 1938.[9]

Fleischmann's great-great-great-granddaughter [Elizabeth Holmes](/source/Elizabeth_Holmes) is an American fraudster and former businesswoman who founded [Theranos](/source/Theranos), a failed and fraudulent blood-testing [Silicon Valley](/source/Silicon_Valley) startup.[10][11]

## See also

- [Vienna bread](/source/Vienna_bread)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-auto_1-0)** Hamburger, Susan (2000). ["Fleischmann, Charles Louis : American National Biography Online"](https://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1000563). *oxfordindex.oup.com*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1000563](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fanb%2F9780198606697.article.1000563). Retrieved Jul 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["montecito journal – Vol 2 Issue 2 : Moguls & Mansions: Major Max C. Fleischmann"](http://www.digitaleditiononline.com/article/MOGULS_%26_MANSIONS_%3A_MAJOR_MAX_C._FLEISCHMANN/263857/26368/article.html). Retrieved 6 October 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Klieger, P. Christiaan](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Klieger,_P._Christiaan&action=edit&redlink=1). *The Fleischmann Yeast Family.* Chicago: [Arcadia Books](/source/Arcadia_Books). 2004

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Morgan Mergers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110618093924/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732595-2,00.html). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*. 1929. Archived from [the original](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,732595-2,00.html) on June 18, 2011. Retrieved 2008-08-04. But also announced last week was a Morgan-managed merger of Fleischmann Co., [Royal Baking Powder Co](/source/Royal_Baking_Powder_Company)., 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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Klieger, Ibid

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Yeast_6-0)** Price C (Fall 2015). ["The healing power of compressed yeast"](https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-healing-power-of-compressed-yeast). *Distillations Magazine*. **1** (3): 17–23. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Rolfes, Steven (2012). [*Cincinnati Landmarks*](https://books.google.com/books?id=kgnS65gAbJoC&q=cincinnati+workhouse&pg=PA44). Arcadia Publishing. p. 44. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780738593951](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780738593951). Retrieved 2013-05-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Julius Fleischmann"](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julius_Fleischmann&oldid=1075872089), *Wikipedia*, 2022-03-08, retrieved 2022-04-26

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["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. FLEISCHMANN DIES AT POLO IN MIAMI"](https://www.nytimes.com/1925/02/06/archives/julius-fleischmann-dies-playing-polo-in-tourney-at-miami-head-of.html). *The New York Times*. 1925-02-06. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0362-4331](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2022-04-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Spector, Barbara (March 25, 2019). ["What family businesses can learn from Theranos"](https://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/what-family-businesses-can-learn-theranos). *Family Business*. Retrieved September 17, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Carreyrou, John](/source/John_Carreyrou) (2018). *[Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup](/source/Bad_Blood%3A_Secrets_and_Lies_in_a_Silicon_Valley_Startup)*. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 9–10. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-5247-3165-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-5247-3165-6). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1249975944](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1249975944).

## External links

- [Fleischmann's Yeast home page](https://web.archive.org/web/20080419013852/http://www.fleischmannsyeast.com/home)

- [Charles Louis Fleischmann](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4446) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charles Louis Fleischmann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Louis_Fleischmann) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Louis_Fleischmann?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.