The first “Sugar Daddy” ever
Who was the first one in history?
We get asked a variety of questions every day on Facebook, Twitter and sometimes even Instagram, but this one regarding the first sugar daddy in history really intrigued me. That’s why I made it the title and object of this article to share with you what I learned 🙂
Does “Sugar Daddy” have any relation to sugar itself?
Not many people know, but the person behind the lines you’re reading, me, is a translator during the day and a blogger during the night. Anyone with the slightest notion of translation knows: the worst thing you can do is translate anything literaly.
Why am I telling you that? Because every time I read an article about sugar dating in a different language, I spot a literal translation of “sugar daddy” within the first couple lines. Let me play their game and translate their translations literally 😉 — those translations end up sounding like “dad of sugar”. Whenever I read something like that, I have to stop and take a deep breath. Otherwise, I’d probably spoon my eyes out.
What helps the reader know the literal translation of such an expression? Nothing. What reaction does it cause? Repugnance, I would say. Forgive my rambling.
BACK TO WHAT MATTERS: A Sugar Daddy is a successful man — read: “rich” — who sponsors a younger woman in exchange for company. What is meant by “sponsoring” and “company” depends the agreement between the two.
As tempted as I am to say that “sugar daddy” has nothing to do with sugar, the first Sugar Daddy in history had a lot to do with the substance.
The first person to be called SD
The first man to be called “sugar daddy” in this world was Adolph Spreckels, born in 1857 in California. Money wasn’t an issue to him, as he came from a wealthy family. Among his possessions was a sugar refinery, which still exists today.
At the the age of 51, he married a woman 24 years younger than him, named Alma de Bretteville, who deserves a separate article. She used to refer to her husband as my “Sugar Daddy” because he owned the refinery and was old enough to be her father.
Since his family was rich, influential and well-known, this expression became popular and finally became synonymous with the central concept of MySugarDaddy.com.
It is important to point out that Adolph Spreckels only gave rise to the expression “sugar daddy”. I strongly doubt that his relationship with Alma was the first Sugar relationship in history. But saying exactly who started this “trend” goes beyond my capabilities. I’m a translator and blogger, not a historian, after all.
