James Alexander Dewar (February 5, 1897 – June 30, 1985) was a Canadian inventor known for inventing the

Twinkie A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by private ...

in 1931.

Career

Dewar began his career in 1920 at the

Continental Baking Company The Continental Baking Company was one of the first bakeries to introduce fortified bread. It was the maker of the Twinkie and Wonder Bread. Through a series of acquisitions and mergers it became part of the former Hostess Brands company. His ...

that later, through a series of mergers and acquisitions, became

Hostess Brands Hostess Brands is an American-based bakery company formed in 2013. It owns several bakeries in the United States that produce snack cakes under the Hostess and Dolly Madison brand names and its Canadian subsidiary, Voortman Cookies Limited, pro ...

. He started as a delivery boy by delivering pastries by horse-drawn cart. Dewar eventually rose up through the ranks to be a plant manager. In 1931, Dewar's plant was making

strawberry shortcakes is a 2006 Japanese film by director Hitoshi Yazaki. The film, based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Kiriko Nananan, concerns the life of four girls, as they deal with their own insecurities while living in the metropolis of Tokyo. Thi ...

, but only during strawberry season. Dewar came up with an idea to create a shortcake with cream on the inside instead of strawberries. Having seen a billboard for a shoe company called the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Co.", he was inspired to call his shortcake invention a "Twinkie". Dewar rose to be regional vice-president at Hostess and held that position until 1972.

Personal life

James Dewar was born on February 5, 1897, in Pugwash River, Nova Scotia. As a young man, Dewar worked on boats shipping timber and limestone, arriving in Chicago on a laker. Dewar had 4 kids with one of them being

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

half-back James Dewar Jr. Dewar had a total of 15 grandchildren as well. Dewar also said he would give his kids and grandchildren

Twinkies A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by privat ...

regularly, though he said that it never affected any of their health. Some people said that Dewar had at least 3 twinkies and a glass of milk before he went to bed though that was never confirmed nor denied by Dewar. Dewar died on June 30, 1985, in

Downers Grove Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, at the age of 88 and at the time was survived by 2 daughters, 15 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren.

References

External links

* 1897 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Canadian inventors People from Cook County, Illinois People from Downers Grove, Illinois 20th-century Canadian businesspeople People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Burials in Illinois {{US-business-bio-1890s-stub