August Zang (; 2 August 1807 – 4 March 1888) was an entrepreneur who founded the Vienna daily Die Presse. He also had a major influence on France baking methods.
Soldier and baker
The son of Christophe Boniface Zang, a
Vienna surgeon, August Zang became an artillery officer before he went to
Paris, probably in 1837, to establish a bakery, Boulangerie Viennoise, which opened in 1838 or 1839.
[The 1839 date and most of what follows regarding Zang's role in baking are documented in Jim Chevallier, "August Zang and the French Croissant: How Viennoiserie Came to France", p. 3–30. For the 1838 date, see Giles MacDonogh "Reflections on the Third Meditation of La Physiologie du goût and Slow Food". (p. 8); an Austrian PowerPoint – Ess-Stile – gives the date of 1840 (slide 46). The bakery itself later claimed that it had been founded that year, but earlier references have been documented.] The bakery was quickly imitated, and its Austrian
kipfel became the French
croissant. Baking historians, who often qualify Zang as "Baron", "Count" or "Royal Chamberlain" though he did not hold those titles, sometimes claim he introduced the
baguette, but that is not supported by any period source. However, he introduced the Viennese steam oven, which became standard in
France and is the standard oven used for baguettes.
Journalist and publisher
In 1848, when censorship was lifted in
Austria, he returned to Vienna and founded
Die Presse, a daily newspaper that still exists today though after several interruptions. The paper was modelled on Émile de Girardin's
La Presse and introduced many of the same popularising journalistic techniques, including a low price supported by volume and advertising; serials; and short, easily-understood paragraphs. In 1864, a dispute led two key journalists to leave
Die Presse to found
Die Neue Freie Presse. The original
Die Presse was soon known as
Die Alte Presse, and Zang sold it in 1867.
Later life
In his remaining years, he owned a bank and a mine in
Styria, the site of which is still known as Zangtal ("Zang Valley").
When he died, he was most known as a wealthy press magnate. His obituary in Die Presse said only that he had spent some years in Paris and omitted all mention of his role in baking.
His ornate tomb in Vienna is still a tourist attraction.
See also
Notes
