Editing Emanuel Bronner

{{short description|American soapmaker}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Emanuel Bronner
| image         = Emanuel Bronner.jpg
| alt           = A picture of a blind man wearing dark glasses and a white lab coat grinning while holding a bottle of soap while lit from below. Steam, presumably [[dry ice]], billows from below, giving the photograph a science-fiction feel.
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Emanuel Theodor Heilbronner
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1908|02|01}}
| birth_place   = [[Heilbronn]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1997|03|07|1908|02|01}}
| death_place   = [[Escondido, California]], U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-this-day-creator-of-dr-bronners-magic-soaps-dies-1.5232973|work=[[Haaretz]]|title=This Day in Jewish History 1997: Creator of Dr. Bronner's "Magic" Moral Soaps Dies|last=Green|first=David B.|date=March 7, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223182410/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-this-day-creator-of-dr-bronners-magic-soaps-dies-1.5232973|archive-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref>
| other_names   = 
| occupation    = Soap maker, entrepreneur
| years_active  = 
| known_for     = [[Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps]]
| notable_works = 
}}

'''Emanuel Theodore Bronner''' (born '''Emanuel Heilbronner''';<ref name="journal-sentinel" /> February 1, 1908 – March 7, 1997) was the founder of [[Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Bryony Gomez Palacio, Armin Vit |year=2011 |title=Graphic Design Referenced: A Visual Guide to the Language, Applications, and History of Graphic Design |publisher=Rockport Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/graphicdesignref0000gome/page/311 311] |isbn=978-1592537426 |url=https://archive.org/details/graphicdesignref0000gome/page/311 }}</ref> He used product labels to promote his moral and religious ideas, including a belief in the goodness and unity of humanity.

== History ==
Bronner was born in [[Heilbronn]], Germany, to the Heilbronner family of soap makers.<ref name="db" /> He emigrated to the [[United States]] in 1929, dropping "Heil" from his name due to its association with [[Nazism]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Lubinski |first1=Christina |first2=Marvin |last2=Menniken |url=https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=134 |title=Emanuel Bronner |work=Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present |volume=5 |editor-first=R. Daniel |editor-last=Wadhwani |publisher=German Historical Institute |date=October 25, 2013 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-date=August 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816233908/https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=134 |url-status=live }}</ref> He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1936.<ref name=":0" /> As he and his family were [[Jewish]], he pleaded with his parents to emigrate with him for fear of the then-ascendant [[Nazism|Nazi Party]], but they refused. His last contact with his parents was in the form of a [[Censorship|censored]] [[postcard]] saying, "You were right.&nbsp;—Your loving father."<ref name="sd" /> His parents were murdered in [[the Holocaust]].

<gallery widths="200px" heights="180px">
File:BronnerNaturalizationCertificate.jpg|Bronner's 1936 naturalization certificate making him a U.S. citizen
File:BronnerNaturalizationCertificatePhoto.jpg|Portrait from the naturalization certificate
</gallery>

== Career ==
He started his business making products such as [[castile soap]] by hand in his home. The product labels are crowded with statements of Bronner's philosophy, which he called "All-One-God-Faith" and the "Moral ABC",<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Foster
| first = Tom
| title = The Undiluted Genius of Dr. Bronner's
| work = Inc.com
| access-date = 2014-10-24
| date = 2012-04-03
| url = http://www.inc.com/magazine/201204/tom-foster/the-undiluted-genius-of-dr-bronners.html
| archive-date = April 5, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405154924/http://www.inc.com/magazine/201204/tom-foster/the-undiluted-genius-of-dr-bronners.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref> both of which he included on the label of every soap bottle he produced.<ref name="Ben Ehrlich 2007, page 2">Ben Ehrlich, ''Dr. Bronner's Soapy History'', The [Jewish] Forward, June 29, 2007, page 2.</ref>  Many of Bronner's references came from [[Judaism|Jewish]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] sources, such as the [[Shema]] and the [[Beatitudes]]; others from writers such as [[Rudyard Kipling]] and [[Thomas Paine]]. On his labels, he referred to the Jewish sage [[Hillel the Elder]] as "Rabbi Hillel" and to [[Jesus Christ]] as "Rabbi Jesus."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.drbronner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Moral-ABC-2015-Edition.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-09-14 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219201502/https://www.drbronner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Moral-ABC-2015-Edition.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2016 }} "The Moral ABC [Parts] I & II" by Dr. Emmanuel Bronner. Page 23: "Rabbi Hillel taught Jesus to unite the whole human race in our Eternal Father's great, All-One-God-Faith." Page 36: "A Human being must teach friend & Enemy the Moral ABC uniting all mankind free or that being is not yet human! Rabbi Jesus' full truth No. 1." Page 39: "To stay free: Small minds discuss people. Average minds discuss events. Great minds teach Rabbi Hillel's Moral ABC."</ref> The labels became famous for their idiosyncratic style, including hyphens to join long strings of words and the liberal use of [[exclamation mark]]s.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Philpott
| first = Tom
| title = Why Did Top Scientific Journals Reject This Dr. Bronner's Ad?
| work = [[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]
| access-date = 2014-10-24
| date = 2014-10-20
| url = https://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/10/read-dr-bronners-gmo-ad-thats-too-hot-nature-and-science
| archive-date = June 3, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170603192326/http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/10/read-dr-bronners-gmo-ad-thats-too-hot-nature-and-science
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

In 1946, while promoting his "Moral ABC" at the [[University of Chicago]], Bronner was arrested for refusing to leave the dean's office, despite the fact he was invited to the campus to lecture by a local student group, and then was committed to the [[Elgin Mental Health Center]], a mental hospital in [[Elgin, Illinois]], from which he escaped after [[Electroconvulsive therapy|shock treatments]]. Bronner believed those shock treatments brought about his eventual blindness.<ref name="journal-sentinel" />

After escaping from Elgin, Bronner hitch-hiked to Los Angeles, California. Over time Bronner started a family and eventually settled in [[Escondido, California]], where his soap-making operation grew into a small factory. At his death in 1997, it produced more than a million bottles of soap and other products per year, but was still not mechanized.<ref name="ts" /> The firm has been the subject of many published articles and has supported many charitable causes.<ref name="ts" />

==Legacy==
After Bronner's death, his family has continued to run the business. His grandson [[David Bronner]] is currently CEO.<ref>{{Cite web
| last = Harkinson
| first = Josh
| title = How Dr. Bronner's Soap Turned Activism Into Good Clean Fun
| work = Mother Jones
| access-date = 2014-10-24
| date = 2014-05-24
| url = https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/dr-bronners-magic-soap-david-bronner-gmo-hemp
| archive-date = May 12, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170512224033/http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/dr-bronners-magic-soap-david-bronner-gmo-hemp
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref name="Applying Fair Trade Principles To A Manufacturing Supply Chain (presentation by Gero Leson, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Director of Special Operations)">{{cite web|last1=Leson|first1=Gero|title=Applying Fair Trade Principles To A Manufacturing Supply Chain (presentation by Gero Leson, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Director of Special Operations)|url=http://wfto.com/sites/default/files/REDUCED%20VERSION%20-%20Applying%20Fair%20Trade%20Principles%20To%20A%20Manufacturing....pdf|publisher=[[World Fair Trade Organization]]|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=April 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404113431/http://wfto.com/sites/default/files/REDUCED%20VERSION%20-%20Applying%20Fair%20Trade%20Principles%20To%20A%20Manufacturing....pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

His life was the subject of a 2007 [[documentary film]], ''Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox'', which premiered on the [[Sundance TV]] channel, on 3 July 2007.<ref name="Ben Ehrlich 2007, page 2"/><ref name="NYTmoviereview" /><ref>{{Cite news
| issue = November/December
| last = McClelland
| first = Mac
| title = Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox
| work = Mother Jones
| access-date = 2014-10-24
| date = 2007
| url = https://www.motherjones.com/media/2007/10/dr-bronners-magic-soapbox
| archive-date = January 18, 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180118154922/http://www.motherjones.com/media/2007/10/dr-bronners-magic-soapbox/
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

The [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]] has a ship, the {{MV|Emanuel Bronner}}, donated by the soap company.<ref>{{Cite web
| title = Introducing the latest addition to the Sea Shepherd fleet, the M/V Emanuel Bronner
| work = Sea Shepherd
| access-date = 2017-11-13
| date = June 2, 2017
| url = https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/newest-addition-to-the-sea-shepherd-fleet-generous/
| archive-date = November 13, 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171113221657/https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/latest-news/newest-addition-to-the-sea-shepherd-fleet-generous/
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist
| refs =

<ref name="journal-sentinel">
{{cite news
| url = http://www2.jsonline.com/news/sunday/lifestyle/0608bronner.stm
| title = On his soapbox: Man of ideas lathered his cleansing product with messages
| newspaper = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]
| date = 1997-06-08
| access-date = 2010-06-05
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070312054730/http://www2.jsonline.com/news/sunday/lifestyle/0608bronner.stm
| archive-date = 2007-03-12
}}
</ref>
<ref name="db">{{cite web
| url = http://www.drbronner.com/
| title = Dr. Bronner's Soap
| access-date = July 6, 2003
| archive-date = July 18, 2003
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030718181132/http://www.drbronner.com/
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
<ref name="sd">{{cite web
| url = https://www.straightdope.com/21342071/why-the-weird-religious-ravings-on-dr-bronner-s-soap
| title = Why the weird religious ravings on Dr. Bronner's soap?
| publisher = [[The Straight Dope]]
| date = 1988-04-22
| access-date = 2007-10-23
| archive-date = October 22, 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201022094430/https://www.straightdope.com/21342071/why-the-weird-religious-ravings-on-dr-bronner-s-soap
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
<ref name="ts">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.thesunmagazine.org/bronner.html
 | title = "Next To Godliness: The Story Behind Dr. Bronner's Soap," an interview with Ralph Bronner
| work = [[The Sun (magazine)|The Sun]]
| author = Gail Grenier Sweet
| quote = 2 million bottles are packed by hand ... Four to five people, not working fast, pack them with no machines
|date=January 2001
| access-date = 2007-10-23
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010508090128/http://www.thesunmagazine.org/bronner.html |archive-date = 2001-05-08}}
</ref>
<ref name="NYTmoviereview">{{cite news
| last = Catsoulis
| first = Jeannette
| title = Movie Review - Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox: Beneath the Bubbles
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/movies/29bron.html
| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
| date = 2007-06-29
| access-date = July 26, 2019
| archive-date = July 26, 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190726065045/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/movies/29bron.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.drbronner.com/ Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Home Page]
* [http://magicsoapbox.vhx.tv/ ''Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox'', a documentary film]
* [https://www.inc.com/magazine/201204/tom-foster/the-undiluted-genius-of-dr-bronners.html "The Undiluted Genius of Dr. Bronner's"] (2012-04-03) in ''[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]]'' magazine

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronner, Emanuel}}
[[Category:1908 births|Bronner, E. H.]]
[[Category:1997 deaths|Bronner, E. H.]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American blind people]]
[[Category:German people of Jewish descent]]
[[Category:People from Escondido, California]]
[[Category:People from Heilbronn]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:German emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American pacifists]]
[[Category:Activists from California]]
[[Category:20th-century American philosophers]]