Mayer was born in Kösingen (now part of Neresheim), in the Kingdom of Württemberg, where his family had been foresters and ministers for generations.

[1] With the company's continued growth, it became a sponsor of such events as polka bands and the German exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

[2] By the time of his death, the business named after himself had grown to 9,000 employees, with facilities in Davenport, Iowa; Los Angeles; Madison, Wisconsin; and Philadelphia.

[1] In 1912, Mayer founded the Lincoln Park Gun Club with Philip K. Wrigley, Sewell Avery, and other prominent Chicagoans.

After being ill for six weeks, he died in his sleep on March 11, 1955, at age 95, at his home, 5727 North Sheridan Road, in Chicago, with his son and successor Oscar G. Mayer Sr. and his three daughters at his bedside.