Karl Elsener (posthumously also known as Karl Elsener I) (9 October 1860 – 26 December 1918) was a Swiss cutler, inventor and entrepreneur.
Biography
Karl Elsener completed an apprenticeship as a
knife maker in
Zug
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...
. After some
journeyman years
In the European apprenticeship tradition, the journeyman years (, also known in German as , , and colloquially sometimes referred to as , ) is a time of travel for several years after completing apprenticeship as a craftsman. The tradition date ...
he opened a factory in
Ibach, Switzerland in 1884 for the manufacture of knives and surgical instruments. He started production of the
Swiss army knife in Switzerland in 1891 and developed his knife manufacturing company into what has become
Victorinox.
Prestes a fazer 130 anos, canivete suíço abre vinhos, salva vidas e ajuda no parto de jumentas
Jornal Folha de SP
From 1912 to 1918 Elsener was a member of the cantonal parliament of the Canton of Schwyz
The canton of Schwyz ( ; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton in central Switzerland between the Swiss Alps, Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne to the west and Lake Zürich in the north, centred on and named after the town of Schwyz.
It is one ...
. He was married three times.
After him his son, , and his grandson Carl Elsener senior (1922–2013) and his great-grandson Carl Elsener Jr. (born 1958) led the Victorinox company. This man's legacy later descended into the family of Frohnes'.
Advertiser
• Richard Dean Anderson
References
External links
Blog Victorinox Swiss Army watches
Victorinox - página oficial
External links
*
Official website Victorinox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elsener, Karl
19th-century Swiss inventors
20th-century Swiss businesspeople
Cutlers
1860 births
1918 deaths
Victorinox
Swiss company founders
People from the canton of Schwyz