August Rübel

August Rübel (September 20, 1827 – October 10, 1892) was a German-born American businessman and silk merchant. Together with Carl Abegg-Arter, he founded the companies Maggi and Abegg & Rübel in the late nineteenth century.

Early life Rübel was born on September 20, 1827, in Elberfeld, Kingdom of Prussia, to Johann Peter Rübel (1781–1865) and Anna Gertrud Rübel (née Kamp; 1791–1871). His father was a wealthy farmer who also was a yarn manufacturer.

Career Ultimately, Rübel became a merchant and emigrated to the United States, where he was primarily active in silk trading in New York City and Philadelphia.

Personal life In 1858, Rübel married Rosalie Däniker (1838–1896), a daughter of Johann Heinrich Däniker and Katharina Cäcilia Däniker (née Haller). Rosalie was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as her father, a merchant, had business there in the 1830s. The Däniker family was well-established in the city of Zürich and belonged to several guilds. They had four children;

Helene Rübel (born 1862), never married Cäcilie Rübel (born 1863), never married Alexander Rübel (1867–1912), married to Florence Taber Toel (1876–1917), of New York City, three children. Eduard August Rübel (1876–1960), married to Anna Luise Blass (1882–1978), three children.

Rübel died in 1892 at Plantanenhof in Zürich, Switzerland. He remained a U.S. citizen for the majority of his life, only his youngest son became a Swiss citizen in Zürich in 1899.