Adolph Rickenbacher

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Adolph Rickenbacher (1886 – 1976) was the founder of the Rickenbacker guitar company.

Born Adolf Rickenbacher in Switzerland. He settled in Los Angeles in 1928. He Anglicized his name to Adolph Rickenbacker, due partially to post World War I anti-German sentiments, but also to capitalize on the popularity of his cousin, the Flying Ace Eddie Rickenbacker.

His Rickenbacher (later Rickenbacker) Manufacturing Company made metal bodies for National String Instrument Corporation beginning in the 1920s. It was through this connection that Rickenbacher met George Beauchamp and Paul Barth, and in 1931 the three founded the Ro-Pat-In Company. In 1932 they produced the first cast aluminum versions of the lap steel guitar. In 1934 the company was renamed the Electro String Instrument Corporation. By the time production ceased in 1939, about 2,700 Frying Pan guitars had been produced.

Rickenbacker, never completely convinced of the guitar business's potential, continued manufacturing until 1953 when he sold his company to F.C. Hall, a forerunner of the Southern California electric guitar boom.