Milton S. Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township, Pennsylvania. In 1871, Hershey’s mother decided it was time for him to permanently become a printer’s apprentice for a German-English newspaper. A few years later Milton Hershey became apprenticed to Joseph Royer, where he would learn to make candy and he discovered that he had a special talent for candy making. After a few years, he decided that it was time to start his own business. In 1886, Hershey, arrived back in Lancaster, where he formed the Lancaster Caramel Company. Even though this business started off slowly because Hershey did not have the capital, after four years, Hershey became one of the leading manufacturers of caramel in the United States and a rich, famous man.On May 25, 1898, he married Catherine “Kitty” Sweeney in New York City, the place of their first meeting. Continuing his business and noticing substantial success from manufacturing chocolate, Hershey decided to sell the Lancaster Caramel Company for $1 million in 1900.Then he began building a town where his workers could reside, which included houses, schools, churches, and stores. Besides building a residential area for his workers, Hershey’s town included The Hotel Hershey, a sports arena and stadium, Hershey Park, and the Milton S. Hershey School. The school was formed because Milton and Kitty Hershey wanted to use their money to help orphaned boys and provide them with a place to live that felt like home, as well as the opportunity to teach the boys trades for when they grew up. However, in 1918, after Kitty Hershey’s death, Milton Hershey decided to give his entire personal fortune of $60 million to the school. After many accomplishments and a successful life, Milton Hershey died at the age of 88 on October 13, 1945, in Hershey, Pennsylvania due to a heart attack in the hospital.
