H. B. Reese
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H. B. Reese (born May 24, 1879, Frosty Hill, York County, Pennsylvania; died May 16, 1956, West Palm Beach, Florida) was the inventor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and founder of the H.B. Reese Candy Company.
Reese first tried his hand at candy making in Hummelstown and Palmyra, Pennsylvania, where he made Johnny Bars and Lizzy Bars. He first moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1917, where by the mid-1920s he was manufacturing peanut butter cups (then called penny cups because they sold for one cent), among other small candies and assortments.
During World War II, economic constraints lead him to discontinue his other candies and concentrate solely on his peanut butter cups. The chocolate for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups was supplied by Hershey in 10-pound blocks and Reese became Hershey's second largest chocolate customer after Mars.
Reese died in West Palm Beach, Florida eight days before his 77th birthday on May 16, 1956 of a heart attack.
