Christian Ludwig Rutt (October 8, 1859 – 1936) was a

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edi ...

for the '' St. Joseph News-Press'' who is credited with coming up with the recipe and name for

Aunt Jemima Aunt Jemima was an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and was advertised as the first " ...

pancakes. Rutt was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. In 1865 he moved with his parents to

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator ...

, where he attended St. Benedict's College (now

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

). He worked for several years at newspapers in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

, and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He moved to

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri, Buchanan County, Missouri, United States. A small portion of the city extends north into Andrew County, Missouri, Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the princ ...

, in 1885, where he worked for the ''

St. Joseph Gazette The ''St. Joseph Gazette'' was a newspaper in St. Joseph, Missouri from October 1845 until June 30, 1988, when its morning position was taken over by its sister paper, the ''St. Joseph News-Press''.John N. Edwards. In 1889, he attended a white

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

show where the song "

Old Aunt Jemima "Old Aunt Jemima" is an American folk song written by comedian, songwriter, and minstrel show performer Billy Kersands. The song became the inspiration for the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes, as well as several characters in film, television, a ...

" was being performed. The minstrels had red

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...

s in their hair, and wore aprons. He and Charles Underwood had recently bought the Pearl Milling company in St. Joseph. They trademarked the image. Unable to make it work, they sold to the R.T. Davis Milling Company in St. Joseph. Davis would hire Nancy Green to portray the character at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

in 1893. In 1900, he was made editor for the ''Gazette''. In 1902, he became managing editor of the ''Daily News'', which would become the ''News-Press''. According to St. Joseph newspaper lore, at one point he would write an article in the morning ''Gazette'' and then refute it in the afternoon ''News''.St. Joseph News-Press: 150 years of St. Joseph News by Preston Filbert - News-Press & Gazette Co (1995) Rutt continued as editor until his death in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutt, Chris 1859 births 1936 deaths Writers from Milwaukee Benedictine College alumni News-Press & Gazette Company people Managing editors Aunt Jemima