Ira Brahm "Bob" Born (September 29, 1924 – January 29, 2023) was an American

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and inventor in the

confectionery industry Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

. For more than thirty years, he was president of

Just Born Just Born, Inc., is an American family-owned confectionery company based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It manufactures and markets a number of confectionery, including Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, Peeps, Teenee Beanee ...

, a family-owned candy manufacturer founded by his father

Sam Born Sam Born (September 10, 1891 – March 23, 1959) was an American businessman and candy maker. Biography Samuel Bernstein was born into a Jewish family in Vinnitsia, Russian Empire (now Vinnytsia in Ukraine). He had been a rabbinical student ...

. Bob became known as the "Father of

Peeps Peeps are a marshmallow confection produced by candy maker Just Born since 1953 for sale the United States and Canada in the shape of chicks, bunnies, and other animals, as well as holidays, holiday shapes, with themes revolving around Hallowe ...

" for automating the production of an

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

marshmallow treat, and also developed the candy

Hot Tamales Hot Tamales is an American brand of cinnamon-flavored candies manufactured and marketed by the Just Born company. Introduced in 1950, they were developed by Bob Born, son of Sam Born, the company's founder. The name derives from the someti ...

Early life and education

Born was born on September 29, 1924 to Sam Born and Ann Shaffer, a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. His father was from Ukraine, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. In 1932, the family moved to

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

where their candy factory was located. He graduated from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

in 1944 with a degree in Engineering Physics. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served on a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. After the war, Born studied graduate-level math and physics at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He was accepted into medical school but did not start classes, instead started work in his father's company.

Career

In 1945, Born joined his father's company, Just Born. In 1950, he developed a process to turn unused

Mike and Ike Mike and Ike is an American brand of fruit-flavored candies that were first introduced in 1940 by American company Just Born. Despite conjecture, the origin of the candy's name remains unknown. History Mike and Ike is located in Bethlehem, ...

candies into a new product,

, by remelting them and adding hot cinnamon flavor. In 1953, the company acquired the Rodda Candy Company, known for its jelly beans. Rodda also made novelty marshmallow chicks, Peeps, as early as 1925. The manual process took 27 hours to produce one. By studying the process and designing a simpler Peep, Born, along with another engineer, created an automated system that took only 6 minutes to produce one. The company now makes over five million a day, with most of the sales occurring during the

season. Born became president of the company in 1959. He was succeeded by his son Ross Born and his cousin David Shaffer as co-presidents in 1992. Bob Born Day was celebrated in Bethlehem on February 15, 2019, led by its mayor

Robert Donchez Robert "Bob" Donchez is an American politician. He served as a city councilman of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from 1996 until 2013 and was the city's 11th Mayor from 2013 to 2021. He currently is serving as deputy director of Human Resources for No ...

Personal life

Born was married three times. He was first married to Maxine Appell, a healthcare professional. They had a son, born in 1953, and a daughter. He next married Elaine Selwyn; they were together until her death in 2008. At the time of his death, he was married to Patricia Guggenheim. He retired to

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. He died at his home in

Conshohocken, Pennsylvania Conshohocken ( ; ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in suburban Philadelphia. Historically a large mill town and industrial and manufacturing center, after the decline of industry in ...

on January 29, 2023.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Born, Bob 1924 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American inventors 20th-century American Jews American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople in confectionery Businesspeople from Brooklyn Inventors from Brooklyn Lehigh University alumni People from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania People from Conshohocken, Pennsylvania People from West Palm Beach, Florida United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Arizona alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni