Henry Liebmann (December 6, 1836 – March 27, 1915) was a German-born American brewer and president of S. Liebmann Brewery (later

Rheingold Breweries Rheingold Brewery, also referred to as Rheingold Breweries, or Liebmann Breweries, was the producer and marketer of Rheingold Beer from 1883 until 1987. This article is about both the brewery and its primary brand "Rheingold," which has been ...

) in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The brewery's main brand, ''Rheingold Extra Dry'', was one of the most popular beer brands in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the 1940s to 1960s.

Biography

Heinrich Liebmann was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Schmiedelfeld in 1836, the son of Dara (née Selz) and

Samuel Liebmann Samuel Liebmann (November 12, 1799 – November 21, 1872) was a German-born American brewer and founder of S. Liebmann Brewery (later Rheingold Breweries) in Brooklyn, New York. Introduced after his death, the main brand ''Rheingold Extra Dry'' w ...

. His father was, at the time, the owner of the estate Schloss Schmiedelfeld. In 1840, the family moved to

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

and ran the inn "Zum Stern" and its attached brewery; and where Henry attended secondary school. His father determined to immigrate to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for political reasons and sent his son, Joseph, in 1850 in advance to procure a home. In 1854, the remainder of the family immigrated, settling in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. The family first leased and operated the old Maasche Brewery and later, pooling their resources, built a new brewery in

Bushwick Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; the cemeteries of Highland Park to the southe ...

named the S. Liebmann Brewery. After the death of his father in 1872, the three sons took over the management of the brewery and incorporated it as S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Company. The Liebmann brothers alternated with each other as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

each year. Henry was responsible for brewing; Joseph for financial matters; and Charles for management and operations. In 1903, the Liebmann brothers retired and handed over the management of the company to six of their sons. Liebmann died in 1915 in New York City.

Personal life

On June 21, 1819, Liebmann married Emma Dellevie (born June 21, 1849); they had 7 children: *Sara Liebmann (born December 13, 1868), married Morris Heimerdinger *Harriet Liebmann (born April 11, 1870), married Joseph E. Heimerdinger *Samuel Liebmann (born October 11, 1873), married Viola Salomon, 2 sons **Samuel Liebmann Jr. (born August 30, 1907) **William B. Liebmann (born June 17, 1912) *Walter H. Liebmann (born November 19, 1874), married Lulu Waxelbaum, 3 children **Henry Liebmann (born May 29, 1902) **Eleanor Liebmann (born June 5, 1905) **Walter H. Liebmann Jr. (born June 1, 1906) *Charles Joseph Liebmann (born March 13, 1877), married Aline Meyer, daughter of

Marc Eugene Meyer Marc Eugene Meyer (January 27, 1842–January 17, 1925) was an American businessman and was president of Lazard Frères in the United States. Born in Strasbourg, France, he migrated to California as a teenager, living in San Francisco and Los Ang ...

, 2 children **Charles J. Liebmann Jr. (born October 30, 1909) **Margaret H. Liebmann (born December 24, 1913) *Edward Liebmann (July 12, 1876 – April 25, 1890) *Kathleen Liebmann (born September 6, 1888), married Milton Jacob Bach

References

''Die Liebmann Brauerei in New York''
retrieved August 15, 2014. * * Carl Schlegel
''Schlegel’s American Families of German Ancestry'', S. 236ff.
retrieved August 15, 2014. * Bernhard Purin: ''"My Beer is Rheingold – the dry Beer". Die Liebmanns, Hermann Schülein und Miss Rheingold''. In: Lilian Harlander, Bernhard Purin (Hg.): ''Bier ist der Wein dieses Landes. Jüdische Braugeschichten'', Volk Verlag, München 2016, , S. 207––229.
''The Liebmann Family and the New York Society for Ethical Culture''
retrieved August 15, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebmann, Henry 1836 births 1913 deaths American Jews American brewers Württemberger emigrants to the United States Liebmann family 19th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Brooklyn People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn