F. Augustus Heinze

F. Augustus Heinze
Heinze c. 1904
Born
Frederick Augustus Heinze

December 5, 1869
DiedNovember 4, 1914(1914-11-04) (aged 44)
EducationBrooklyn Polytechnic Institute
Columbia School of Mines
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseBernice Golden
Children1

Frederick "Fritz" Augustus Heinze (German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪntsə]) (December 5, 1869 – November 4, 1914) was an American businessman, known as one of the three Copper Kings of Butte, Montana, along with William Andrews Clark and Marcus Daly. Contemporary assessments variously described him as an intelligent, charismatic but also devious character. To some people in Montana, he was seen as a hero for standing up to the Amalgamated Copper Company, but he also eventually sold his Butte interests to Amalgamated for a reported $12 million. Thereafter, he played a significant role in the Panic of 1907, for which he was indicted but eventually exonerated. Ultimately, Heinze's flamboyant, hard-drinking lifestyle resulted in a hemorrhage of the stomach thought to be caused by cirrhosis of the liver, and he died in November 1914, aged 44.