Ericus Gerhardus Verkade (20 November 1835 – 8 February 1907) was a Dutch businessman and the founder of the Verkade manufacturing company in 1886.

Biography

Ericus Gerhardus Verkade was born on 20 November 1835 in Vlaardingen in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was named after his father, the

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

Ericus Gerhardus Verkade Sr (1801–1835), who died one month before he was born. Verkade's mother, Geertruida van Gelder, was from Wormerveer and moved her family back to her birthplace shortly after Ericus Jr's birth.Verkade genealogy
/ref> Soon after school, Verkade started a vegetable oil factory, which burned out in 1875. The next eight years he and his brother-in-law traded in grains. On 2 May 1886, he started a steam-powered bakery, which company he first named "De Ruyter" for the first mill in Zaandam that milled flour—the original "ruiter" ("chevalier") was on the company logo until 1994. Verkade originally baked bread and

rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a w ...

, but soon expanded to make cookies, chocolate, and snacks. Verkade became a household name in the Netherlands. In 1857 in Zaandam, Verkade married Trijntje Smit (1835–1863) in 1857, with whom he had a daughter. In 1865 he married Eduarda Thalia Koning (1841–1917), with whom he had 7 children. His son

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul Sérusier, he belon ...

(1868–1948) became a well-known Post-Impressionist artist. Jan was the twin brother of Ericus Gerhardus (1868–1927) who would take over his father's business. Verkade died on 8 February 1907 in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hil ...

in the Netherlands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verkade, Ericus 1835 births 1907 deaths Dutch industrialists People from Zaanstad