Franklin Clarence Mars

Franklin Clarence Mars was an American entrepreneur and the visionary founder of Mars, Inc., multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products. As a child recovering from polio, he learned to hand-dip chocolate with his mother—a skill that ignited his lifelong passion for candy-making. At 19, he began selling molasses chips, which set him on a path to confectionery innovation. In 1911, alongside his second wife Ethel Veronica Healy, Mars established the Mars Candy Factory in Tacoma, Washington, though early competition forced its relocation. By 1920, the company moved to Minneapolis under the name Mar‑O‑Bar Co., later incorporating as Mars, Inc.. Mars’s breakthrough came in 1923 with the Milky Way bar—conceived from a suggestion by his son Forrest—a chocolate, caramel, and nougat confection that propelled his company to national success. He followed this triumph with the introduction of the Snickers bar in 1930, named after the family’s favorite horse. Mars later settled in Chicago (River Forest, Illinois), where he became an honorary captain of the Oak Park police. Beyond candy, he invested in his passion for horse breeding and ranching, establishing the sprawling Milky Way Farm in Tennessee—complete with barns, clubhouse, and racetrack. He remained actively involved in both his business and agricultural pursuits until his death at age 50 from heart and kidney issues at Johns Hopkins Hospital.