Richard Hellmann

Born: 1876 | Died: 1971

Entrepreneur

Richard Hellmann was born in Vetschau, in the Spree forest south of Berlin, in the state of Brandenburg. In 1905, two years after arriving in the United States, he married the daughter of a delicatessen-owner in New York City. His delectable recipe for mayonnaise was featured in salads and sold in the deli, and the condiment quickly became so popular Hellmann began selling it in "wooden boats" that were used for weighing butter.

Originally, Richard Hellmann produced two kinds of mayonnaise and to tell the difference, he put a blue ribbon around one of them; that is how the now well-recognized blue-ribbon-brand-logo was created. Today “Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise” is sold worldwide and Hellmann’s name, still spelled in its original German way with a double N, has become a well recognized brand name.

Throughout his lifetime Richard Hellmann never forgot the city of his origin and was a generous donor. He became an honorary citizen of Vetschau in 1929.

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