Nationality American Occupation Confectioner | Name H. Reese | |
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Full Name Harry Burnett Reese Born May 24, 1879 ( 1879-05-24 ) York County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Residence Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S. Other names H.B. Reese, HB Reese, Harry Burnett Reese, Harry Reese, Poppy Reese, Mr. Reese's Known for Inventing Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Title Founder and Chairman of the Board, H.B. Reese Candy Company, Hershey, PA Died May 16, 1956, West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Spouse Blanche Edna Reese (m. 1900–1956) Children Ralph Collins Reese, Clara Louise Reese Lauzon Parents Aquilla Asbury Reese, Annie Belinda Manifold Similar People Milton S Hershey, Jonathan Goldsmith, Forrest Mars | ||
Harry Burnett "H. B." Reese (May 24, 1879 – May 16, 1956) was an American inventor and businessman known for creating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company.
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Biography
Reese was born in York County, Pennsylvania on an agricultural and dairy farm. He was the son of Annie Belinda (Manifold) and Aquilla Asbury Reese. He married Blanche Edna (Hyson) Reese on August 1, 1900. H.B Reese invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in 1928.
He first moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1917, where he enjoyed a relatively prosperous job on a dairy farm owned by The Hershey Company until the farm was closed by Hershey's. Not long after moving his family to Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Reese moved back to Hershey, again working for Hershey's. Always an entrepreneur and inspired by his work, Reese began experimenting with candies in his basement, by 1923 he created the H. B. Reese Candy Company. He built a new home and factory for his growing business in 1926, selling a large assortment of candies. By 1928, H. B. and Blanche had sixteen children. That same year, H. B. Reese invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. H.B. Reese initially sold his many candies on consignment to retail stores, but by 1935 he was a success and was able to pay off all his mortgages.
During World War II, economic constraints and scarcity of materials led him to discontinue his other candies and concentrate solely on his peanut butter cups, his most popular offering.
Death
Reese died on May 16, 1956 of a heart attack in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 76.