Edmund Dexter

popular name: Arthur Letts

date_of_death: May 18, 1923

age: 60

cause_of_death: Suddenly of unknown causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Arthur Letts Sr. was an immigrant from England who made his fortune in Los Angeles, California, in the early year 1900s when he built a department store and real estate empire by transforming a small, bankrupt dry goods store in downtown Los Angeles into the prominent The Broadway department store, later adding the Bullock's store. His son, Arthur Jr., continued with his legacy with great success.

popular name: Charles Louis Fleischmann

date_of_death: December 10, 1897

age: 62

cause_of_death: Paralysis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Charles Louis Fleischmann was a Hungarian-American who, along with his brother Maximilian and another partner, created America’s first commercially produced yeast, which revolutionized baking in a way that made today’s mass production and consumption of bread possible. It all began in 1870 when, at the instigation of his partner, Charles began to make yeast by a Hungarian method with which he had been long familiar. The patent for making compressed yeast from the froth or scum formed during the manufacture of malt or spirituous liquors was taken out, however, by his brother Henry, who assigned it to Fleischmann & Gaff in return for an annuity. This yeast was slow in finding a market, so that the partners nearly failed. As a last resort they put on a huge exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, at which spectators could see the yeast made, the dough set, and the bread baked, and could then adjourn to a restaurant and eat the bread. The exhibit was popular; the restaurant yielded a cash profit; and the advertising value of the enterprise was enormous. Thereafter there was no trouble in selling Fleischmann’s yeast. After Gaff’s death in 1879, Fleischmann bought his share in the business for $500, 000. His wealth grew rapidly. He became a director in some twenty-five Cincinnati enterprises and was president of a cooperage company, a large vinegar works in Illinois, a newspaper company, and the Market National Bank. He took a hand in civic affairs, was fire commissioner in 1890, was elected as a Republican to the state Senate in 1879 and again in 1895, and was a friend and adviser of William McKinley. Today Fleischmann's Yeast is the #1 seller of yeast and the #2 manufacture of vinegar in the world. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

popular name: Sarah Winchester

date_of_death: September 5, 1922

age: 83

cause_of_death: Congestive heart failure

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Sarah Winchester was an American heiress who amassed great wealth after the death of her husband, William Wirt Winchester (son of Winchester Repeating Arms Company founder Oliver Winchester). Her inheritance included $20 million ($606.5 million in 2022) as well as a 50% holding in the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, which made her one of the wealthiest women in the world at the time. Sarah Winchester was, supposedly, so racked with guilt and haunted by the spirits of those killed by the Winchester firearms that she started building a house in California because a medium advised her that endless building would appease the dead. Construction, which continued 24 hours per day 7 days a week, only stopped when she died. The only problem with this narrative is that it is 100% completely false. And to make matters worse, the owners of the Winchester Mystery House continue to this day to repeat this myth to thousands of visitors every day to the home in San Jose. The fact of the matter is Sarah Winchester was not a crazy, guilt-ridden millionaire who sought guidence from ghost whispers, but rather she was highly educated, spoke multiple languages fluently, and moved to California for her health. She purchased a modest (by her standards) farmhouse and started work on her architectual marval. Aside from its immense size and Victorian style architecture, the House has a number of unique characteristics. To begin, it is undeniably a labyrinth. There are literally miles of maze-like corridors and twisting hallways, some of which have dead ends—forcing the traveler to turn around and back-up. There are also some centrally located passages and stairways that serve as shortcuts allowing a virtual leap from one side of the House to the other. Although Sarah’s labyrinthine House serves the same function as the ancient prototypes, her labyrinth is more a symbolic introductory step into her puzzle. The greatest test for the initiate lies in his ability to understand and identify Mrs. Winchester’s remarkable mix of symbols and numbered code. Sarah’s love of Geometry and specific symmetric numbers is prominently displayed throughout the House. When Winchester died in 1922 the house had 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces, 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens.