Charles F. Pfister
| Charles F. Pfister | |
|---|---|
Charles F. Pfister, Wisconsin Historical Society collections
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| Chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 17, 1859 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | November 12, 1927 (aged 68) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | banker, corporate director, hotelier, utility owner, publisher |
Charles F. Pfister (June 17, 1859 – November 12, 1927) was a wealthy tannery magnate, bank financier, utility owner, newspaper publisher, hotelier and philanthropist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was also a central figure in the stalwart “Old Guard” of the Republican Party of Wisconsin during the rise of the state's progressive Republicans. Although never a political candidate himself, Pfister advised on tactics and used his vast holdings to fund the party’s operations, dictate favored legislation, and re-edit the opinion pages of Wisconsin newspapers. A lifelong bachelor, Pfister belonged to many clubs and organizations but shunned the spotlight. He donated much of his fortune to local arts groups and charities.
Charles Frederick Pfister was born as Charles Frederick Weisert in Milwaukee on June 17, 1859; in 1870, he was adopted by Guido Pfister, an emigre from Wurtemberg, Germany. Guido's cousin and fellow emigre Frederick Vogel founded a tannery on Milwaukee's Menominee River while Pfister opened a shoe store on nearby West Water Street. Combining forces as the Pfister & Vogel Leather Company, their company thrived, becoming one of the largest leather producers in the country.
Charles Pfister was educated at the city’s Engelmann Academy (later the German-English Academy, which Pfister paid to rebuild and dedicated to his father in 1891). After his 1876 graduation he went to work in his father's business offices. In 1878 he became the sales manager of the company’s retail shoe store. Four years later he proved to Vogel he could open eastern markets, selling railcar loads of leather to shoemakers in cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Relying on just eight “jobbers” to fill the orders, company stock tripled. Later Pfister became the company's treasurer and then its president.
Guido Pfister used the new capital to expand into other Milwaukee businesses and interests. Before his death in 1889, he consolidated banks to form the Merchants Exchange bank. Son Charles succeeded his father as bank director and invested in many local enterprises, including the city's first electric rail line, owned by local Democratic boss John Hinsey. He oversaw the bank’s merger with the First National bank in 1893, and with the First Wisconsin National bank in 1919. Pfister also directed and invested in other banks, as well as railroads, toll roads, insurance companies, trust companies, heavy industries (such as Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing), land companies, plus lumber and mining interests, in and out of Wisconsin.
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