Milton S. 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 dropped out of school early to work in the confectionery business in his native Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As a young adult, his mother's family financed for him several unsuccessful ventures in the candy industry. He persisted, and eventually found success manufacturing caramel and other candies in what became the Lancaster Caramel Company. Despite the 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 company and the rights to produce chocolate products. With the proceeds he acquired some 40,000 acres 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.

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. The high school was originally intended for white boys who were orphans or came from broken homes.

In 1918, Hershey transferred the majority of his assets, including his control of the chocolate company, to the formation of the Hershey Trust Co., to benefit the Industrial School. The trust fund has a majority of voting shares in Hershey Foods Corporation, allowing it to keep control of the company. In the mid 20th century, the trust planned briefly to divest itself of the chocolate enterprise to concentrate on the school, a decision that was called off after protests from workers and from residents of the thriving town. The trust also has 100% control of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, which owns the Hershey Hotel and Hersheypark, among other properties. All profits from this trust fund are required to go to towards helping the children who go to the school. Due to the massive amounts of confectionery sold to date, the fund is worth billions.

The [Milton S. Hershey Medical Center][1] was a gift from Hershey to the people of Pennsylvania, with an initial endowment of $50 Million Dollars, with only one string attached...the hospital must be built in Hershey. The hospital, a teaching hospital, is a marvel of modern construction, beauty, and function. The annual budget exceeds the initial amount required to build it. It is part of the Penn State University.

External links

• Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company

References

• Brenner, Joël Glenn (2000). The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey & Mars. Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0457-5.
• D'Antonio, Michael (2006). Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams, Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743264096