Milton Hershey

Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is famous for founding The Hershey Chocolate Company and the "company town" of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Hershey was born on a farm near Derry Church, Pennsylvania, the only surviving child of Henry and Fanny Hershey. Due to the family's frequent moves, Milton Hershey dropped out of school after the 4th grade and was apprenticed to a Lancaster printer. As a young adult, his Reformed Mennonite mother's family financed for him several unsuccessful ventures in the candy industry. He persisted, and eventually found success in 1883 manufacturing caramel and other candies in what became the Lancaster Caramel Company. Following a visit to the 1893 Columbian Exposition he bought a European exhibitor's chocolate manufacturing equipment and added chocolate products to his business. Despite his company's prospering, Hershey determined that the chocolate industry had more promise. He sold the Lancaster Caramel Company for one million dollars in 1900 but retained the chocolate business and the rights to produce chocolate products. With the proceeds he acquired some 40,000 acres (160 km©˜) of undeveloped land north of Lancaster where he founded the Hershey Chocolate Company, which would become the world's largest chocolate factory.

The factory was in the center of dairy farmland, but with Hershey's support, houses, businesses, churches, and a transportation infrastructure accreted around the plant. Because the land was surrounded by dairy farms, he was able to use fresh milk to mass-produce quality milk chocolate. Hershey continued to experiment and perfect the process of making milk chocolate using the techniques he had first learned for adding milk to make caramels. The company also pioneered in making cocoa drinks and the famous Hershey's baking chocolate.

On May 25, 1898 Hershey married Catharine "Kitty" Sweeney. Since Milton and his wife Catherine could not have children, they decided to use their successes to benefit others, opening the Hershey Industrial School in 1909. In 1951, this was renamed the Milton Hershey School.

In 1918, Hershey transferred the majority of his assets, including his control of the chocolate company, to the formation of the Milton Hershey School Trust, to benefit the Industrial School. The trust fund has a majority of voting shares in The Hershey Company , allowing it to keep control of the company. The trust also has 100% control of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, which owns The Hotel Hershey and HersheyPark, among other properties.