William de la Barre

William de la Barre (April 15, 1849 in Vienna – March 24, 1936 in Minneapolis) was an Austrian-born civil engineer who developed a new process for milling wheat into flour, using energy-saving steel rollers at the Washburn-Crosby Mills (now known as General Mills, Inc.) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later served as chief engineer for the first hydroelectric power station built in the United States, at Saint Anthony Falls, also in Minneapolis.

Early life

William de la Barre, son of Carl and Josephine (Friedl) de la Barre, was born in Vienna, Austria. In 1863, he entered the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna (now known as Vienna University of Technology), where he studied for two years before being recruited into the Austrian Navy as a machinist. In the Navy, he received his first mechanical experience and training. De la Barre immigrated to the United States in October 1866, landing in New York, then settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he found employment as a draftsman and engineer. He served as engineer for the Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1876. He was married to Louisa Verena Merian, daughter of Louis and Marie (Glaser) Merian of Philadelphia, in 1870 in Philadelphia. They had three children.

Career

In 1878, he and his family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. He became a salesman for Behrns' Exhaust, a patented apparatus for the prevention of dust explosions in flour mills, and for several years sold and installed this apparatus in various mills in Minneapolis. Because of his extensive knowledge flour mills, in 1880 he was hired by Cadwallader C. Washburn (better known as C. C. Washburn), founder of the famous Washburn-Crosby Mills in Minneapolis, to be head engineer and superintendent of his mills.^[1] While at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, de la Barre had learned that a new process for milling flour had been invented in Europe that involved passing the grain through a series of rollers, rather than the large round millstones used in America. Washburn sent him to Europe to learn about the process firsthand. What de la Barre discovered was that in Hungary, the mills were using large porcelain rollers shaped more or less like rolling pins and that each series of rollers ground the grain finer and finer. On his return to Minneapolis, de la Barre designed rollers made from steel instead of porcelain. Using de la Barre's steel rollers, the Washburn-Crosby Mills could mill flour that was cleaner, more uniform, and with less energy than ever before. The process was no less than a revolution in milling.

References

External links

• William de la Barre in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia

General Mills
Historical figures	Cadwallader C. Washburn Charles Alfred Pillsbury James Ford Bell William de la Barre Adelaide Hawley Cumming
Cereals	Boo-Berry Cheerios Chex Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cocoa Puffs Cookie Crisp Count Chocula Franken-Berry French Toast Crunch Golden Grahams Honey Nut Cheerios Honey Nut Clusters Kaboom Kix Lucky Charms Nesquik Oatmeal Crisp Reese's Puffs Total Trix Wheaties
Brands	Betty Crocker Green Giant Hamburger Helper Old El Paso Progresso Totino's Wanchai Ferry
Pillsbury	Jus-Rol Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
Snacks	Bugles Chex Mix Fruit by the Foot Fruit Gushers Fruit Roll-Ups Gardetto's Nature Valley Shark Bites
Dairy	Go-Gurt Häagen-Dazs Liberté Yoplait
Baking	Betty Crocker Bisquick Gold Medal Flour
Natural and organic	Annie's Homegrown Cascadian Farms Food Should Taste Good Lärabar
Former	Colombo Yogurt Pet, Inc. Squeezit
Other	Betty Crocker Kitchens Cereal Partners Worldwide The General Mills Radio Adventure Theater Mill City Museum Pillsbury Bake-Off Pillsbury Doughboy
Key innovations	DSV Alvin Hazard analysis and critical control points Project Strato-Lab Skyhook balloon Space food