Julius Freed

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A later model Freed pigeon bathing unit.
A later model Freed pigeon bathing unit.

Julius Freed (August 13, 1887 – April 23, 1952) was an American banker, mechanical engineer, and amateur pigeon racer, notable for his involvement in the creation of the beverage Orange Julius.

Freed was the only son of German immigrants Adolf Freed and Irmgard Cumbie-Stanz, who settled in California in 1902. Although Freed's engineering prowess brought forth many innovations, including:

  • The auto-cleaning spectacles,
  • An inflatable shrimp trap and
  • A portable pigeon bathing unit,

he is arguably best remembered for his contribution to the beverage industry with the Orange Julius.

Freed was a contemporary of, and often corresponded via post with, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, American director Cecil B. DeMille, and northern California prune farming pioneer Bradly H. Johnson.

Freed died of natural causes in his Los Angeles, California, home.

[edit] References

  • Cunningham, Arthur J. "Local Inventor, Proprietor Dead at 64" Los Gatos Daily Letter. 24 April 1952, late ed.
  • Kaempffert, Waldemar B. Popular History of American Invention. New York: AMS Press, 1975.