Early Years
The oldest of five children, Spreckels was born in Charleston, South Carolina, though the family soon moved to New York City and then went on to San Francisco, California, where he was raised. Spreckels attended Oakland College and then the Polytechnic College in Hanover, Germany until 1872 where he studied chemistry and mechanical engineering. He returned to California and began working for his father, Claus Spreckels, who had grown extremely wealthy in the sugar business. In 1876 he went to the Hawaiian Islands, where he worked for his father's sugar business, Spreckels Sugar Company.
Read more about this topic: John D. Spreckels
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