Businessman. He built the famous Hotel Adlon in Berlin, Germany in 1907. At one time it was the unofficial residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who preferred its comforts to the drafty halls of the Imperial Palace, and over the years it hosted celebrities ranging from Albert Einstein to Louise Brooks. It was an inspiration for Vicki Baum’s novel “Grand Hotel”, which was made into a classic Hollywood film in 1932. Born in Mainz, Germany, he first won fame as a restaurant-owner and later became his country’s leading wine merchant,  with over 3 million bottles in his cellars. In 1905, with the Kaiser’s endorsement,  he pooled his varied assets to build the posh Adlon. Centrally located on Berlin’s main thoroughfare, the Unter den Linden, it was within walking distance of several foreign embassies and it is said that some of the policies leading to World War I were plotted there. After Adlon’s death the establishment was successfully run by his children and it served as the “official hotel” of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Most of the building was gutted by fire at the end of World War II and the remaining structure was demolished in 1984. In 1997 a luxurious new Hotel Adlon, based on the original blueprints, was erected at the site. (bio by: Bobb Edwards)