John D. Rockefeller Sr.

popular name: Gilbert F. Heublein

date_of_death: March 21, 1937

age: 87

cause_of_death: Arteriosclerosis

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: German-born Gilbert F. Heublein was a prominent hotelier, restaurateur, food and liquor distributor in Hartford, Connecticut. While most people remember Gilbert for securing the license and distribution rights of A-1 Steak Sauce to the United States, his real claim to fame should be his discovery and marketing of pre-made cocktails. As the legend goes, Gilbert and his brother Louis had prepared a quantity of premixed cocktails for a large annual picnic. It rained and the event was canceled. A few days later a employee of the Heubleins was told to dispose of the unused beverages. Deciding to taste them first, he found that the drinks had suffered no deterioration and announced the discovery to his bosses. The Heubleins took note and began selling the premixed libations in their saloon and restaurant. The cocktails proved very popular with customers and increasingly became the focus of the family’s attention. With Gilbert now running the business, the new firm concentrated on the premixed cocktails such as Martinis and Manhattans, advertising them widely as Club Cocktails. Upon the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, Heublein's "secondary sideline" of A.1. Sauce served as a fortunate savior, when the production, transportation and sale of all other Heublein products became illegal in the US for the next thirteen years. Upon Gilbert’s death, the company was taken over by John G. Martin, the son of Alice Heublein and Percy Martin, Gilbert Heublein’s grandson. Through Martin’s business savvy, G.F. Heublein & Bro. acquired the rights to sell Smirnoff vodka, Don Q rum, and Jose Cuervo tequila. In 1969, Heublein, Inc. began to package pre-mixed cocktails in 8-ounce cans, such as the ‘Brass Monkey’. The company also made acquisitions outside the liquor industry with the purchase of Grey Poupon mustard in 1936 and Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1971. In 1982, Heublein, Inc was sold to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for 1.4 billion dollars.

popular name: Edmond Safra

date_of_death: December 3, 1999

age: 67

cause_of_death: Smoke inhalation (asphyxiation) in a fire which was deliberately set

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Edmond J. Safra (1932–1999) was an influential international banker and philanthropist, born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a Sephardic Jewish family with a long tradition in finance. He built a global banking empire through institutions such as Republic National Bank of New York and the Safra Group, earning a reputation for conservative banking, discretion, and strong client trust across Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Alongside his business success, Safra was a major philanthropist, supporting education, healthcare, religious, and cultural causes worldwide through what later became the Edmond J. Safra Foundation. He died at age 67 in December 1999 in Monaco during a fire in his apartment; the incident led to criminal convictions from a corrupt Monaco judicial system but also ongoing controversy and debate about the true circumstances of his death. Safra’s legacy endures through his impact on global private banking and his lasting charitable contributions.

popular name: Seymour H. Knox I

date_of_death: May 17, 1915

age: 54

cause_of_death: Uremic coma

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Seymour Knox was a Buffalo, New York businessman who made his fortune in five-and-dime stores. He merged his more than 100 stores with those of his first cousins, Frank Winfield Woolworth and Charles Woolworth, to form the F. W. Woolworth Company. In fact, by the time of the 1911 incorporation of F. W. Woolworth Company, Knox was the second largest of six store operators with 98 U.S. and 13 Canadian locations. In 1912, he received $12 million of the $65 million merger proceeds and was appointed Director and Senior Vice-Principal of the Corporation. Knox is remembered as the pioneering city center store operator. His Detroit, Michigan store was the first outside of the agricultural and small-market towns. Many of the Woolworth friendly rivals emulated his plan. Upon his death, he was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY.