Facundo Bacardí

Don Facundo Bacardí Massó ( _ca. Facund Bacardí i Massó) (1814 – May 9 1887), was a Spanish–Cuban rum businessman. He was the founder and eponym of Bacardi rum distillery in 1862.

Bacardí was born in Sitges (province of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain), son of a family of bricklayers. He settled in Cuba in 1830. In Santiago, he became the owner of a mercantile shop in 1844. He began to experiment with the process of distilling rum in 1852, or sugar-cane brandy, until he was able to obtain a much milder drink. He acquired a distillery and in 1862 constituted the firm Bacardi and Company. In 1872, he turned the management of the company over to his sons Emilio and Facundo Bacardí Moreau. Another son José and son-in-law Enrique Schueg became partners in the firm during the 1890s.A full account can be found in "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba", by Tom Gjelten (Viking, 2008).