Heineken Prizes story 1964 – 2014
Henry Pierre Heineken
Learned and unassuming
Born on April 3, 1886, in Amsterdam, Henry Pierre Heineken was the second generation of brewers. He received his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Amsterdam in 1914. In addition to product quality, his name is associated in particular with the progressive social policy he pursued, a policy that earned him his nickname, the “red brewer”. He died on May 3, 1971, in the town of his birth.
Alfred Henry Heineken
Admiration
Alfred Heineken was a multi-faceted man. The world knew him as a brewer and entrepreneur, but Alfred Heineken never stopped developing his interests in other fields. ‘I’ve always set out to become homo universalis: a brewer, a composer, an architect, an anthropologist, a photographer’, he explained.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken
Making a difference
My father, Alfred Heineken, introduced the first Heineken Prize in 1964. He later went on to add several others, including one for contemporary art.
Charles de Carvalho
Science is the foundation of all progress
I have vivid memories of my grandfather’s insatiable curiosity. One of my fondest recollections is of him sketching out ideas during our family dinners. He once envisioned a square beer bottle that could be repurposed as a building block for houses. Although that idea didn’t quite take off, it was just one example of his creative thinking.
Louisa Brassey
Excite new generations
One of my earliest memories of my grandfather is of sitting around the kitchen table together. He was a great innovator, always drawing things for us that he wanted to invent.
Alexander de Carvalho
Discover more about everything
My grandfather was always meeting people, inviting people to dinner who were outstanding in their field, especially in summer. It could be an amazing jazz player, an amazing scientist, an amazing historian or an amazing magician.