Henry J. Heinz

Lore & Background

Henry John Heinz was born in Birmingham, Pennsylvania, to John Henry Heinz and Anna Margaretha Schmidt. His father emigrated from the Palatinate (then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria) and worked as a brickmaker; his mother came from Hesse-Kassel. When Heinz was five, his family moved to Sharpsburg, where his father started his own brickmaking business. Heinz was raised and confirmed in the Lutheran faith.

Heinz began packing foodstuffs on a small scale in Sharpsburg in 1869, co-founding Heinz Noble & Company with L. Clarence Noble. They marketed bottled horseradish, sauerkraut, vinegar, and pickles. The company went bankrupt in 1875. The following year, Heinz founded F & J Heinz with his brother John and cousin Frederick. In 1888, he bought out his partners and reorganized the company as H. J. Heinz Company, which was incorporated in 1905 with Heinz as its first president for life.

Heinz introduced the slogan '57 varieties' in 1896, though the company then sold over 60 products; he said '5' was his lucky number and '7' his wife's. He led a successful lobbying effort for the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and worked with the Food Administration during World War I. He married Sarah Sloan Young in 1869; they had five children, raised as Presbyterians. Heinz later worshipped with Methodists and Presbyterians and worked closely with Baptists.

Reader's Guide

Henry J. Heinz's significance lies in building a major food-processing company that became a household name and in his role in advancing federal food safety regulation. His company grew from a small horseradish operation to a national enterprise with over 20 processing plants, seed farms, and container factories by his death. Heinz's lobbying for the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act helped establish standards that transformed the American food industry. His personal faith, expressed in his will as a confession of faith in Jesus Christ, and his philanthropic legacy through the Heinz Foundations have influenced public affairs and charitable work for generations. His descendants include U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III and other figures in politics and philanthropy. The company's enduring brand, symbolized by the '57 varieties' slogan, reflects Heinz's marketing acumen and the trust he built with consumers.

Did You Know?

• Heinz chose '57 varieties' as a slogan in 1896, even though the company then sold more than 60 products; he said 5 was his lucky number and 7 was his wife's.
• Heinz's mother's family, the Trump family, originally came from Kallstadt in the Palatinate, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
• Heinz's funeral was held at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, and he is buried in the Heinz Family Mausoleum at Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
• A bronze statue of Heinz by Emil Fuchs was dedicated on October 11, 1924, at the Heinz Company building in Pittsburgh.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American businessman who founded the H. J. Heinz Company. Heinz Field." — Henry J. Heinz "Make all you can honestly ; save all you can prudently ; give all you can wisely." — Henry J. Heinz "A wide market awaited the manufacturer of food products who would set purity and quality above everything else in their preparation." — Henry J. Heinz "To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success." — Henry J. Heinz