Franklin Clarence Mars (; September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) was an American

business magnate A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

who founded the food company

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...

, which mostly makes chocolate

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

. Mars' son Forrest Edward Mars developed

M&M's M&M's (stylized as m&m's) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M ...

and the

Mars bar Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. The bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with mi ...

Family

Franklin Mars was born in September 1883 in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He learned how to hand-dip chocolate candy as a child from his mother Alva, who entertained him while he had a mild case of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

. He began to sell

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

chips at age 19. Mars and Ethel G. Kissack (1882–1980), a schoolteacher, were married in 1902 in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Their son,

Forrest Mars, Sr. Forrest Edward Mars Sr. (March 21, 1904 – July 1, 1999) was an American billionaire businessman and the driving force of the Mars candy empire. He is best known for introducing Milky Way (1924) and Mars (1932) chocolate candy bars, and M&M's ( ...

, was born in 1904 in

Wadena, Minnesota Wadena ( ) is a city in Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the State of Minnesota. It is about one hundred sixty miles northwest of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metro area. The population was 4,325 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat ...

. They divorced. Mars and Ethel Veronica Healy (1884–1945) were married in 1910 and had one daughter, Patricia Mars (1914–1965).

Mars, Incorporated

He started the Mars Candy Factory in 1911 with Ethel V. Mars, his second wife, in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. This factory produced and sold fresh candy wholesale, but ultimately the venture failed because there was a better established business, Brown & Haley, also operating in Tacoma. In 1920, they moved to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, where Mars founded Mar-O-Bar Co. and began to manufacture chocolate candy bars. The company later incorporated as

. In 1923 he introduced his son Forrest's idea, the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

, which became the best-selling candy bar. Mars moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1929 and settled in River Forest. He became an honorary captain of the

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...

police department. In 1930, Mars developed the Snickers Bar.

Death and legacy

Mars died from heart and kidney issues on April 8, 1935 at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...

in Baltimore. Ownership of the family business passed to his son Forrest.

Horse racing

In the late 1920s, in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born soldier o ...

, Mars bought a number of local farms and constructed a large estate called

Milky Way Farm Milky Way Farm in Giles County, Tennessee, is the former estate of Franklin C. Mars, founder of Mars Candies. The property is named for the company's Milky Way candy bar. During the Great Depression, the estate was the largest employer in Gi ...

. During its construction, Mars employed more than 935 men from Giles County to build a 25,000 square feet (2,300 m²) clubhouse, more than 30 barns, and a horse racing track.

Gallahadion Gallahadion (March 31, 1937 – July 7, 1958) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the 1940 winner of the Kentucky Derby. He was a son of the Champion sire Sir Gallahad III, and his dam-sire was U.S. Horse of the Year Reigh C ...

won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

in 1940 after Mars died. Mars-Lakewood-20100912

Mars lived the remainder of his life on the 2,800 acre (11 km²) farm and was buried there upon his death in 1934. After Milky Way Farm was sold, the remains of Mars and his wife

Ethel V. Mars Ethel Veronica Mars (birth name, née Healy; June 1884 – December 25, 1945) was an American businesswoman and racehorse owner. She was Ethel Veronica Healy prior to her marriage in 1910 to Franklin Clarence Mars, the founder of the Mars, Incorp ...

were moved to a private mausoleum at

Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel which is on the National Re ...

in Minneapolis, where they are currently interred.

References

*
www.MilkyWayFarms.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Frank 1883 births 1934 deaths People from Stevens County, Minnesota American food company founders Businesspeople in confectionery Chocolatiers People from Oak Park, Illinois People from Pulaski, Tennessee Mars family People with polio Burials at Lakewood Cemetery

Family

Mars, Incorporated

Death and legacy

Horse racing

See also

References