Joseph Koenig


Joseph Koenig was a German-American lawyer, educator, businessman, manufacturer, and prolific inventor who lived most of his life in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Early life

Joseph Koenig was born near Niesse, Germany, the seventh of nine children of Josef and Magdalena Koenig. His father died in his native country and subsequently his mother came to the United States with her children in 1872, settling in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Koenig went to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1873 at the age of 15 and worked as a painter and decorator. In 1880 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended the Normal College of the American Gymnastic Union, for one-year course of study, graduating in 1881.
In 1881, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he taught for three years while also attending the University of Louisville School of Law. He graduated in 1884. Mr. Koenig was married to Miss Emma Susanna Kraft in Louisville, Kentucky, November, 1884. He and his wife had two children, Remus and Ruby.
In 1884 he move to Wichita, Kansas where he was admitted to the bar in the state of Kansas, and practiced law for several years, and also speculated in real estate.
In 1886, Koenig co-founded a vinegar factory that operated after he moved from Wichita until 1970.
In 1884, he formed a partnership in Wichita, Kansas named Adams and Koenig for cutting and dressing stone and selling bricks and plaster. This company only lasted 2 weeks and resulted in a lawsuit that was appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court.
A business decline left him bankrupt and in 1891 he moved to Chicago, Illinois.
After moving to Chicago he taught for three years. During that time he became interested in aluminum ware. At his request his cousin, Arthur Reymond, exhibited some of this aluminum ware at the World's Fair in 1893. Koenig made similar exhibits in San Francisco and St. Louis. Most of the goods he displayed were imported from Germany. Due to the success he had in selling the goods, he decided to start manufacturing aluminum goods in the United States.

Aluminum era

In 1895 he returned to Wisconsin to found the Aluminum Manufacturing Co. at Two Rivers. This company, the first aluminum fabricating plant in Wisconsin, was merged with other firms in 1909 to become the Aluminum Goods Manufacturing Company. The name of the company was changed to Mirro Aluminum Company in 1957. Before its closure in 2003, it was the largest aluminum cookware company in the world.
He also cofounded the Two Rivers Coal Company in 1899. The coal company was sold to the C. Reiss Coal Company in 1913. C. Reiss later became part of Koch Industries as a subsidiary of Koch Carbon.
In 1905 he cofounded The Wisconsin Automobile Supply to provide tires, repairs and accessories so that automobile owners would not have to order them from Milwaukee or Chicago.
Joseph cofounded the Metal Ware Corporation in 1920. The Metal Ware Corporation is still operating and is current owner of the NESCO brand.
Koenig held numerous patents on aluminum products, including the U.S. army canteen used during World War I. His first patent was issued when he was 18. His production of patents started 21 years later and continued for almost 30 years up until the year before his death.

Retirement and personal life

He retired from active business life shortly before his death, and lived in retirement in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Koenig was a lifelong physical fitness enthusiast and advocate as evidenced by his choice of schools and his association with gymnasiums and a natatorium. This began with his attendance at the American Gymnastic Union from 1880 to 1881. This school was moved in 1907 to the Athenæum in Indianapolis and had a strong emphasis on physical exercise, anatomy, and physics. The school was incorporated into Indiana University in 1941. He continued with his association with the Turner Movement as an instructor at the Turnverein in Indianapolis, and later as the director. His association with the turners continued after his move to Wichita, Kansas in 1884. Koenig constructed a natatorium in 1889 and operated it until he moved from Wichita.
Joseph Koenig was an avid outdoorsman and the society columns in the local newspapers often carried reports of his hunting trips.
Mr Koenig was an early example of a technophile. He owned the first practical automobile in Manitowoc County and in 1922 owned the first practical radiophone.
He was a Blue Lodge Mason and a member of the Elks.
When the Two Rivers School system opened a new grade school in 1931, the school was named the Joseph Koenig School. The school is currently called Koenig Elementary School.

List of patents

  1. - Awning - 21 May 1878
  2. - Comb-cutting machine - 26 September 1899
  3. - Making metal combs - 1899
  4. - Grinding, polishing, or buffing machine - 1899
  5. - Grinding, polishing, or buffing machine - 1899
  6. - Grinding, polishing, or buffing machine - 1900
  7. - Grinding, polishing, or buffing machine - 1900
  8. - Comb-pointing machine - 1900
  9. - Comb-tooth-beveling machine - 1900
  10. - Grinding, polishing, or buffing machine - 1900
  11. - Comb-filing tool - 1901
  12. - Design for a comb - 1902
  13. - Fish-net float - 1903
  14. - Comb - 1903
  15. - Biggin - 1904
  16. - Fish-net float - 1905
  17. - Fish-net float - 1905
  18. - Bill-file - 1905
  19. - Making combs - 1906
  20. - Fish-net float - 1907
  21. - Spouted vessel - 1912
  22. - Flask for liquids - 1913
  23. - Internal-combustion engine - 1914
  24. - Internal-combustion engine - 1914
  25. - Internal-combustion engine - 1915
  26. - Drawing-press - 1915
  27. - Making spouts - 1915
  28. - Compressor - 1916
  29. - Internal-combustion engine - 1918
  30. - Heat-economizer - 1919
  31. - Heating apparatus - 1919
  32. - Flask for liquids - 1919
  33. - Heating apparatus - 1920
  34. - Means for securing handles and the like to receptacles - 1920
  35. - Propelling device - 1921
  36. - Match box and ash tray for automobiles - 21 November 1922
  37. - Percolator - 12 December 1922
  38. - Percolator - 19 June 1923
  39. - Electrically Heated percolator - 9 June 1923
  40. - Turbine-engine rotor and method of making the same - 10 November 1925
  41. - Hot-air engine - 17 August 1926
  42. - Toy turbine engine - 21 September 1926
  43. - Hot-air turbine - 21 September 1926
  44. - Hot-air motor - 19 October 1926
  45. - Hot-air turbine - 16 November 1926
  46. - Hot-air engine - 21 December 1926
  47. - Hot-air engine - 4 January 1927
  48. - Hot-air motor - 18 January 1927
  49. - Hot-air engine - 18 January 1927
  50. - Hot-air motor - 22 February 1927
  51. - Hot-air motor - 4 October 1927
  52. - Heater for hot-air engines - 24 July 1928