Gustave Niebaum
| Gustave Ferdinand Niebaum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1842 Helsinki, Finland |
| Died | 1908 |
| Occupation | Sea Captain Winemaker |
| Known for | One of the original commercial winemakers in the Napa Valley |
Gustave Ferdinand Niebaum (originally Gustaf Ferdinand Nybom) (b. 31.8.1842 in Helsinki, Finland - 1908) acquired his maritime schooling in Helsinki, Finland. By the end of 1850s - now a Sea Captain - Gustave Niebaum had become the world's leading fur trader.
Among his many known accomplishments Captain Niebaum founded the Alaskan Commercial Company in San Francisco, California. Captain Niebaum prepared some of the first official maps of the coastline of Alaska. As the Consul of Russia in the United States in 1867 (at the time Finland was an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia) Niebaum helped explore the territory and promoted ratification of the Alaska purchase, by which US bought Alaska from Russia.
Born in Helsinki, Finland, as Gustaf Ferdinand Nybom to a Swedish-speaking family. This spelling of his name is rendered in the original Swedish form. As a 16-year-old Gustaf first came to Alaska on a voyage aboard a ship owned by the Russian-American Company. During this period both Alaska and Finland were regions under Russian control. On his return he studied for his Master's exam in Helsinki and was soon back in Alaska working as a helmsman. He later advanced to the rank of Captain. Alaska came under American control in October 1867. Borrowing money from Finnish-American Philanthropist Lars Kovala, Nybom formed a new company with four other partners naming it the Hansen, Nybom & Co. They became wealthy seal-skin traders. They sold Alaskan seal skins in San Francisco and made California their new home.
In time, after many years of trading and building his wealth, Gustaf Nybom eventually changed his name to the German form of Gustave Niebaum. It is believed that he did so to fit in with his many partners who were German Jews. Some of his German partners had seen the potential for planting wine grapes in the fertile Napa Valley and had done so since the 1860s. Gustave married a German-American woman in 1873. Niebaum and his wife purchased 450 acres on prime land in 1879 and began making their own wine.
In 1879 Niebaum established Inglenook Winery in Rutherford, California, a small village in Napa Valley.
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