Background
John was born on August 16, 1853 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. He was the eldest of thirteen children born to Claus Spreckels and Anna (Mangel).
John was born on August 16, 1853 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. He was the eldest of thirteen children born to Claus Spreckels and Anna (Mangel).
He was educated in the public schools, and in Oakland College, Oakland, California, later studying chemistry and mechanical engineering in the Polytechnic College in Hanover, Germany.
Upon his return from Germany, Spreckels became an apprentice in the technical and business departments of his father's sugar refinery, and at the age of twenty-two was made a plant superintendent. In 1876 he went to the Hawaiian Islands and devoted a year to sugar analysis, and later superintended the erection of a sugar mill and the development of his father's sugar plantations.
Subsequently, the firm's shipping interests were extended to Australia and New Zealand.
Visiting San Diego on a pleasure trip in 1887, he became captivated with the locality and made it the chief seat of his activities for the rest of his life, contributing in many ways to the development of the city and nearby Coronado.
First he built a wharf and began supplying coal to the Santa Fe Railroad; in 1887 the Spreckels Brothers' Commercial Company was organized and soon practically controlled the import and export trade of San Diego.
He generously aided in the success of the Panama-California Exposition (1915 - 16), and among his best known benefactions was the gift of the great organ in Balboa Park, dedicated on the eve of the opening of the Exposition. Another of his notable benefactions was a large gift which he, a 33rd degree Mason, made to Mercy Hospital, a Catholic institution, for a much needed addition. Through his efforts, the San Diego & Arizona Railway (later part of the Southern Pacific system) was built during the World War as a link between San Diego, the Imperial Valley, and the East.
In most of these interests and activities he was closely associated with his brother Adolph B. Spreckels, who died in 1924.
In 1897 he purchased the San Francisco Call and conducted it until 1913, when it became an evening paper, with Spreckels holding a minority interest.
Although he owned a beautiful residence in San Francisco, his favorite home was in Coronado, where he lived during the last twenty years of his life and died.
John Diedrich Spreckels founded the J. D. Spreckels & Brothers Company, shipping and commission merchants, which in December 1881 established the Oceanic Steamship Company, operating between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands. He promoted the erection of the Coronado Beach Hotel; bought the San Diego street railway and supplanted horsepower with electricity; aided the city in obtaining an adequate supply of pure water; erected modern office buildings, a theatre, and two more hotels. He was president or vice-president of many business corporations, including the Oceanic Steamship Company, the Western Sugar Refining Company, the Spreckels Sugar Company, the San Diego Electric Railway, the Pajaro Valley Railroad, and the San Diego & Arizona Railway.
His notable benefactions was a large gift which he, a 33rd degree Mason, made to Mercy Hospital, a Catholic institution, for a much needed addition.
At one time he was a dominant figure in the Republican party of the state.
Quotations:
Spreckels' underlying philosophy in this regard can best be summed up as follows: "Before you can hope to get people to live anywhere . .. you must first of all show them that they can get there quickly, comfortably, and above all, cheaply. Transportation determines the flow of population. "
"Get your water first, for without your water you get your population under false pretenses and they quit you when the water runs dry. "
He was a member of numerous clubs, including the Pacific Union and Bohemian Club of San Francisco and the San Francisco and San Diego yacht clubs.
Quotes from others about the person
His biographer, Austin Adams, called him "one of America's few great Empire Builders who invested millions to turn a struggling, bankrupt village into the beautiful and cosmopolitan city San Diego is today. "
In October 1877 he married Lillie C. Siebein of Hoboken, New Jersey; four children were born to them.
