John Michael Kohler II (November 3, 1844November 5, 1900) was an
Austrian American
Austrian Americans (, ) are Americans of Austrian descent, chiefly German-speaking Catholics and Jews. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 735,128 Americans of full or partial Austrian descent, accounting for 0.3% of the population. T ...
immigrant, industrialist, and politician. He most notably founded and led the
Kohler Company
Kohler Co., is an American manufacturing company founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and El ...
and served as the 27th mayor of
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is an independent, not-for-profit contemporary art museum and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.restored Gilded Age home along with modern buildings), is named for Kohler, as is John Michael Kohler State Park, established on land donated in 1966 by the Kohler family. The main highway into Sheboygan, Kohler Memorial Drive (which is routed as
Wisconsin Highway 23
State Trunk Highway 23 (often called Highway 23, STH-23 or WIS 23) is a Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System, state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The highway's route is signed as a north–south route from Shullsburg, Wiscon ...
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, then part of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
. He was the fourth child of Johann Michael Kohler (1805–1874), a dairy farmer, and Maria Anna Kohler (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Moosbrugger; 1816–1853). After his wife's death, the elder Kohler remarried, and he and his large family emigrated to the United States. With help from a relative, the Kohlers built up a promising dairy business.
After receiving a limited formal education, Kohler found work in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
. In 1865 he moved to
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and became a traveling salesman. In
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...
, 56 miles north of
Milwaukee
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 ...
on Lake Michigan, he met Lillie Vollrath (1848–1883), the daughter of local steel and iron industrialist Jacob Vollrath (1824–1898). The couple was married in 1871.
Business career
Shortly after his marriage, Kohler worked at the steel and iron factory his father-in-law partly owned. He took over the company two years later during the
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
. By the early 1880s, the firm was producing a variety of iron and enamelware products. In 1883, Kohler put ornamental feet on a cast-iron water trough and sold it as a bathtub. Four years later, more than two-thirds of the company's business was in plumbing products and enamelware. In 1888, Kohler and two partners had the firm incorporated.
In 1899, Kohler purchased 21 acres of farmland four miles west of Sheboygan, intending to move his entire company to the location. Shortly after the new factory was constructed, in 1900, Kohler died at 56, likely of heart failure.
Five years later, 30-year-old Walter J. Kohler assumed his father's corporate presidency and began to guide the firm. In 1912, it was officially designated the Kohler Company, and the property surrounding the plant became the Village of Kohler.
Civic leadership
From 1880 until his death Kohler served in several governmental offices. In 1892 he became Mayor of Sheboygan. Citizens also admired Kohler for his generous contributions and leadership in the areas of art and culture, symbols of Sheboygan's desire to be more than a factory town.Thomas C. Reeves, Distinguished Service: The Life of Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler, Jr. (Marquette University Press, 2006), pp. 19-29
The
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center is an independent, not-for-profit contemporary art museum and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.restored Gilded Age home along with modern buildings), is named for Kohler,Richard E. Blodgett, A Sense of Higher Design: The Kohlers of Kohler (Greenwich Publishing Group, 2003) as is John Michael Kohler State Park, established on land donated in 1966 by the Kohler family. The main highway into Sheboygan, Kohler Memorial Drive (which is routed as
Wisconsin Highway 23
State Trunk Highway 23 (often called Highway 23, STH-23 or WIS 23) is a Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System, state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The highway's route is signed as a north–south route from Shullsburg, Wiscon ...
), is also named for Kohler.
Personal life
In 1871, Kohler married Elizabeth Vollrath (1848-1883), daughter of John Jacob Vollrath and Elisabeth Margaret Vollrath (née Fuchs), who both originally hailed from
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. His father-in-law was the founder of The Vollrath Company and major steel industrialist in Sheboygan. They had six children;
* Evangeline Kohler (1872–1954), remained unmarried
* Robert J. Kohler (1873–1905)
* Walter J. Kohler Sr. (1875–1940) the 26th
Governor of Wisconsin
The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...
and father of Walter J. Kohler Jr., the 33rd Governor of Wisconsin.
* Marie Christine Kohler (1876–1943), remained unmarried
* Lillie Babette Kohler (1878–1965), remained unmarried
* Carl J. Kohler (1880–1904)
In 1887, four years after his wife Lillie's death, John married Lillie's sister, Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vollrath (1852–1929), and they had one child;
* Herbert Vollrath Kohler Sr. (1891–1968), who became the dominant force in the
Kohler Company
Kohler Co., is an American manufacturing company founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and El ...
, and presiding over the longest strike in American history. He was the father of Herbert Vollrath Kohler, Ruth DeYoung Kohler and grandfather of K. David Kohler, who currently serves as the chair and chief executive officer of the
Kohler Company
Kohler Co., is an American manufacturing company founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and El ...
.
The large and fashionable Kohler family home in Sheboygan was filled with music, books, and constant lessons in ethics and public service. The entire Sheboygan area mourned Kohler's 1900 death. John's three daughters remained in the Kohler house, unmarried, for the rest of their lives, frequently wearing black.