- Franklin Clarence Mars
Infobox Celebrity
name = Franklin Clarence Mars
imagesize =
caption =
birth_date = September 24, 1883
birth_place =Newport, Minnesota orHancock, Minnesota
death_date = death date and age|1934|4|8|1883|9|24
death_place =Chester Springs, Pennsylvania orBaltimore, Maryland
occupation = Founder of Mars, Inc.
salary =
networth =
spouse = Ethel G. Kissack
Ethel V. Healy
children = Forrest Edward Mars, Sr.
Patricia Mars
website =
footnotes =Franklin Clarence Mars (
September 24 ,1883 –April 8 ,1934 ), sometimes known as Frank C. Mars, was the founder of the American companyMars, Incorporated , which makes mostly chocolatecandy . Mars and his son Forrest Edward Mars developedM&M's .Family
He was born in 1883 in
Newport, Minnesota cite web|title= Franklin Mars|url=http://www.oprf.com/oprfhist/marsf.htm|publisher=The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest|accessdate=2008-02-25] orHancock, Minnesota .cite web|title=History|url=http://www.mars.com/global/Who+We+Are/History.htm|publisher=Mars, Incorporated|accessdate=2008-10-06] Frank Mars learned how to hand dip chocolate candy as a child from his mother Alva, who hoped to entertain him as he had a mild case ofpolio . He began to sell Molasses chips at age 19. Mars and Ethel G. Kissack, a schoolteacher, married in 1902. Their son,Forrest Mars, Sr. was born in 1904 inWadena, Minnesota . Mars and Ethel V. Healy married in 1910 and that year he began to sell candy wholesale inTacoma, Washington .Mars, Incorporated
In 1920, they moved to
Minneapolis, Minnesota , where Mars founded Mar-O-Bar Co. and began to manufacture chocolate candy bars. The company later incorporated asMars, Incorporated . In 1923 he introduced his son Forrest's idea, the Milky Way, which became the best-selling candy bar Mars moved toChicago in 1929 and settled inRiver Forest, Illinois . He became an honorary captain of theOak Park, Illinois police department.In 1930, Mars developed the Snickers Bar.cite news|author=El-Hai, Jack|title=Candy Bar Combat|url=http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/March-2007/Candy-Bar-Combat/|date=March 2007|work=Minnesota Monthly|publisher=Greenspring Media Group|accessdate=2008-10-07] In 1930, his son Forrest Mars, Sr., with the help of Hershey's president
William Murries , began producing M&M Candies (with the "M&M" being "Mars and Murrie").Fact|date=October 2008 Forrest Mars, Sr. went on to grow the company through the addition of such products asUncle Ben's . Forrest Mars, Sr. died in 1999 and left the company to his children who still own it today.Fact|date=October 2008Mars died of kidney and heart problems in 1934 at age 50.
Horse racing
In the late-1920s, in
Pulaski, Tennessee , Mars bought a number of local farms and constructed a large estate calledMilky Way Farms . 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, a horse racing track, and a show horse track.Fact|date=October 2008Gallahadion won the Kentucky Derby in 1940 after Mars died. Recently, Milky Way Farms was sold.Fact|date=October 2008 The current owner is totally renovating the estate to its original glory. In addition, a gated community is being established along with an 18 hole golf course, a polo field, and many other amenities.Fact|date=October 2008Mars lived the remainder of his life on the 2,800 acre (11 km²) farm and was buried there upon his death in 1934.Fact|date=October 2008
Ethel V. Mars ,Fact|date=October 2008 his wife, had his body and the mausoleum moved to Minneapolis a few years after his death.Fact|date=February 2007 Mars is buried inLakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. [cite web|title=Burial Search|url=http://www.lakewoodcemetery.com/lcaclass/BurialQuery?fname=frank&lname=mars&year=1934|publisher=Lakewood Cemetery|accessdate=2008-10-07]ee also
*
Mars family References
*cite web|accessdate=2007-11-11
url=http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/encyclopaedia!openframeset&frame=Right&Src=/edible.nsf/pages/marsfamily!opendocument
title=Mars Family
work=Practically Edible
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