Friedrich Wilhelm "Fritz" Gretsch (May 13, 1856 – April 28, 1895) was a German American businessman and industrialist. He was the founder of the Gretsch Company, a musical instrument manufacturing and marketing company based in Brooklyn, New York.
Born and raised in Mannheim, Germany, in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden, Gretsch immigrated to the United States in 1873. During the Gilded Age, he established his manufacturing company at a time when mass production and standardization were beginning. His company would go on to become one of the largest musical instrument companies in the United States. As of 2025, the Gretsch family still owns and operates the Gretsch Company.
After traveling aboard the SS Fürst Bismarck to Hamburg to visit family in April 1895, he died in the fifth cholera pandemic.
Early life
Friedrich Wilhelm Gretsch was born on May 13, 1856, in Mannheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Confederation, the oldest of nine children of Wilhelm and Anna Gretsch.[1] His father owned a successful general store in Mannheim and his mother had several brothers who immigrated to California.