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August Oetker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

August Oetker
BornJanuary 6, 1862
DiedJanuary 10, 1918 (1918-01-11) (aged 56)
Occupations
  • Food scientist
  • businessman
RelativesRudolf August Oetker (grandson)
FamilyOetker family

August Oetker (German pronunciation: [ˈaʊɡʊst ˈʔœtkɐ]; January 6, 1862 – January 10, 1918) was a German inventor, food scientist and business person. He is known as the creator of baking powder as a ready-to-use product, and also as the founder of the Dr. Oetker company.[1] He was the patriarch of the Oetker family.

Biography

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Early life

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Oetker was born on January 6, 1862, in Obernkirchen, Electorate of Hesse, the oldest of eight children, to August Adolph Oetker (1834-1890) and Bertha Oetker (née Westphal; 1836-1902). He completed a doctoral thesis on the shape of pollen grains in 1888.[2]

Career

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In 1891, he bought the Aschoffsche pharmacy in Bielefeld and developed a baking agent, which was designed to ensure the success of the baking process. Prior to Oetker, a British chemist, Alfred Bird, had already invented baking powder, and American scientist Eben Norton Horsford had developed a ready-made 'double-acting' baking powder.

From 1890, he distributed his invention under the brand name Backin, thus laying the basis for the family-owned company, called Oetker-Gruppe. The company still uses the very same recipe to produce baking powder. On September 21, 1909, Oetker filed a patent for his Procedure for making long-lasting baking powder or ready-to-bake flour.

Due to successful marketing, his products sold quite well and soon the old pharmacy had turned into a successful company. In 1900, Oetker built his first manufacturing plant and, by 1906, had sold 50 million packages of Backin.

Death and legacy

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The 1903 patent

Oetker died on January 10, 1918, in Bielefeld, Germany. Later, his grandson, Rudolf August Oetker, took over the company.

Motto: Ein heller Kopf verwendet stets Oetker. ("A bright mind always uses Oetker.").

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Huggler, Justin (July 30, 2021). "Dr Oetker frozen pizza empire sliced up between warring heirs" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  2. ^ de Klerk, Pim (2018). "the road to Lennart von Post". Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 27 (2): 393–409 – via JSTOR.
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