Louis Kuehnle

Louis Kuehnle
1916 Atlantic City Police Department Souvenir Book
Born	(1857-12-25)December 25, 1857 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	August 6, 1934(1934-08-06) (aged 76) Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Cause of death	Complications due to Appendicitis
Nationality	American
Other names	"The Commodore"
Occupation	Hotel operator of Kuehnle's Hotel
Criminal penalty	6 months
Conviction(s)	Conflict of interest

Louis Kuehnle, (/ˈkuːnliː/; December 25, 1857 – August 6, 1934), known as "Commodore Kuehnle", was an American business entrepreneur and politician of German descent. He is considered a pioneer in the growing resort town of Atlantic City, New Jersey in the late 1880s and early 1900s. He was leader of the Republican organization that controlled Atlantic City during the early 1900s. Future president New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson pursued Kuehnle after his 1910 election as part of his campaign to clean up Atlantic City. The effort led to the unsuccessful prosecution of Kuehnle for election fraud and the successful prosecution and conviction of him for a conflict of interest in connection with a government contract. His name then tarnished by scandal, he was succeeded by Enoch "Nucky" Johnson as leader of the organization.

Kuehnle was born in New York City, New York on December 25, 1857 the son of German immigrants Louis and Katrina Kuehnle, where Louis Sr. was a successful chef. In 1858, Louis Kuehnle Sr., moved his family to Egg Harbor City, New Jersey where he began his first hotel, The New York Hotel. The family then moved again, in 1875, to nearby Atlantic City to open another hotel, Kuehnle's Hotel.

Louis Sr. died leaving Kuehnle, aged 18, to take over Kuehnle's Hotel at the corner of South Carolina and Atlantic Avenues. A saloon named "The Corner" was within the hotel and it became a popular meeting place for local politicians. The meetings included three Atlantic County power brokers, one of whom was Nucky Johnson's father Sheriff Smith E. Johnson. When one of those three politicians died in 1900, Kuehnle took his spot at the meetings and eventually took control of the club itself.