Ivan DeBlois Combe (April 21, 1911 – January 11, 2000) was the American inventor of personal-care products, most notably

Clearasil Clearasil is an American brand of skin care and acne medication, whose products contain chiefly benzoyl peroxide, sulfur and resorcinol, triclosan, or salicylic acid as active ingredients. Clearasil has a wide range of products both for rapid and ...

and Odor Eaters. In 1949 he established his eponymous company

Combe Incorporated Combe Incorporated, based in White Plains, New York, is an American personal-care company founded in 1949 by Ivan Combe. Combe products are sold in 64 countries on six continents. Ivan Combe primarily promoted the brand names instead of the co ...

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

Early life and career

Ivan DeBlois Combe was born in

Fremont, Iowa Fremont is a city in Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 708 at the time of the 2020 census. History In 1871, Fremont stretched for 8 blocks, 1/2 mile (under 1 km) along Main Street, with at least one house on every bl ...

, on April 21, 1911. Combe graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1933, and earned a law degree from the

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

in 1936.Ravo, Nick
"Ivan D. Combe, 88, Marketer Of Clearasil and Just for Men"
''The New York Times'', January 17, 2000 He became a salesman for Hydrox Ice Cream and the Wilbur Shoe Polish company before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to work for the

Young & Rubicam VMLY&R was an American marketing and Marketing communications, communications company specializing in advertising, Digital media, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the 2020 mer ...

advertising agency. He later joined Pharmacraft, a drug manufacturer, but in 1949, left his vice president position to create his own company.

Death

Combe died in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

on January 11, 2000.

Legacy

After his death, Northwestern University named the Combe Tennis Center in his honor.

References

1911 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1910s-stub