Historical Figures Codexery

Milton S. Hershey

The man who made milk chocolate a mass-market delight and built a company town.

Milton S. Hershey

Unknown authorUnknown author · via Wikipedia: Milton S. Hershey · Public domain

He left school after the fourth grade and was apprenticed to a confectioner at age 14.[1] Henry and Veronica "Fanny" (née Snavely) Hershey welcomed their son Milton on September 13, 1857.[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Milton Snavely Hershey
Born
13 September 1857
Birthplace
Derry Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died
13 October 1945
Place of death
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place
The Hershey Memorial, Hershey Cemetery
Other names
The Chocolate King
Occupation
  • Confectioner
  • businessman
  • philanthropist

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Hershey grew up speaking Pennsylvania Dutch as a member of Pennsylvania's Mennonite community.[2] After losing his first job as a printer's apprentice, his mother arranged for him to learn candy-making from Joseph Royer in Lancaster.[1] In Denver he gained knowledge of caramel production using fresh milk, then sought opportunities in New Orleans, Chicago, and finally New York City, where he trained at Huyler's in 1883.[3] That enterprise had more than 1,300 people on its payroll across two facilities by the start of the 1890s.[4]

A trip to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago sparked Hershey's fascination with chocolate, leading him to sell his caramel business for $1 million.[4]

What the cited sources add

A 2020 Pennsylvania Heritage article describes Hershey as an innovative manufacturer who used unconventional advertising strategies.[5] The Milton Hershey School website states that the school was founded on November 15, 1909, and that the first 10 students enrolled in 1910.[6] According to the Hershey Cemetery history, Hershey donated land for the cemetery and officially transferred it on July 31, 1923, for one dollar.[7] The same source records that the first burial was a Hershey Industrial School student who died from influenza.[7]

A $300 check that Hershey wrote to the White Star Line in December 1911, believed to be a 10 percent deposit for a Titanic stateroom, is held by the Hershey Community Archives.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Milton S. Hershey" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burford, "Chocolate by Hershey", Carolrhoda Books, 1994, p. 15 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Milton S. Hershey" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Milton S. Hershey", Milton Hershey School. Mhs-pa.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-23. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Milton S. Hershey" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hershey, Milton Snavely; 1857–1945, Hershey Archives.org Retrieved on 2014-08-15. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Milton S. Hershey" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Buckley Jr., "Who Was Milton Hershey?", Grosset & Dunlap, 2013, p. 23–40 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. McMahon, "Sure to Attract Much Attention: The Advertising Genius of Milton S. Hershey", Pennsylvania Heritage, Fall 2020. facts only, no text reused. paheritage.wpengine.com
  6. "Milton S. Hershey", Milton Hershey School. Mhs-pa.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-23.. facts only, no text reused. mhskids.org
  7. "History of the Hershey Cemetery", HersheyCemetery.com. facts only, no text reused. hersheycemetery.com
  8. Daugherty, Greg, "Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic." Smithsonian Magazine, March 2012.. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Milton S. Hershey (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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