Profile Text
Gehrig in 1937, Harris & Ewing, Library of Congress
Birth Name: Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig
Date of Birth: June 19, 1903
Place of Birth: Yorkville, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Death: June 2, 1941
Place of Death: Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Ethnicity: German
Lou Gehrig was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, he played his entire professional career of seventeen seasons for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neuromuscular illness, now known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was nicknamed “The Iron Horse.”
His parents, Christina Annie (Foch) and Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, were German, his father from Adelsheim, Mosbach, Baden, and his mother from Schleswig-Holstein. Lou was married to Eleanor Twitchell, until his death. Her father was Chicago Parks Commissioner Frank Twitchell.
Lou’s paternal grandfather was Johann Phillip Gehrig (the son of Nikolaus Gehrig and Johanna Katharina Zaun). Johann was born in Widdern, Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg.
Lou’s paternal grandmother was Sophia Johanna Pfeiffer (the daughter of Franz Jakob Friedrich Pfeiffer and Rosina Katharina Barbara Welk). Sophia was born in Adelsheim, Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg. Franz was the son of Georg Jakob Pfeiffer and Eva Magdalena Henselmann.
Source: Genealogy of Lou Gehrig (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com