Milton Snavely Hershey (September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945) was an American confectioner,
philanthropist, and founder of The Hershey Chocolate Company and the "company town" of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Hershey established the Lancaster Caramel Company, which quickly became an outstanding success. Utilizing a caramel recipe he had obtained during his previous travels, his company prospered. It was this business that established him as a candy maker, and set the stage for future accomplishments.
Using the proceeds from the 1900 sale of the Lancaster Caramel Company, Hershey initially acquired farm land roughly 30 miles northwest of Lancaster, near his birthplace of Derry Church. There, he could obtain the large supplies of fresh milk needed to perfect and produce fine milk chocolate. Excited by the potential of milk chocolate, which at that time was a luxury product, Hershey was determined to develop a formula for milk chocolate and market and sell it to the American public. Through trial and error, he created his own formula for milk chocolate. The first Hershey bar was produced in 1900. Hershey's Kisses were developed in 1907, and the Hershey's Bar with almonds was introduced in 1908. Hershey was on his way to owning the largest chocolate company in the world!
Interesting Fact: In 1912, the Hersheys were booked to travel on the ill fated British luxury liner RMS Titanic. They canceled their reservations at the last minute due to business matters requiring Hershey's attention. The former Hershey Museum displayed a copy of the check Milton Hershey wrote to the White Star Line as a deposit for a first-class stateroom on the Titanic.
Text provided by Wikipedia (accessed 9/2/2015)