History of Chewing Gum

Prehistoric Man – 9,000-year-old birch bark tarold birch bark tar
Ancient Greece – Mastic Tree Resin (Mastiche)
Mayan Indians – Sapodilla Tree Sap (Chicle)
Native American Indians – Spruce Tree Resin
1848 – John Curtis – St. of Maine Pure Spruce Gum
1850 – John Curtis – Flavored Paraffin Gum
1867 – Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna meets Thomas Adams Sr. “Chicle”
1869 – Thomas Adams markets “New York Chewing Gum”
1870 – Adams produces first flavored gum (licorice), which was also the first stick of chewing gum
1871 – Adams patents first gum making machine
1879 – William White discovers how to flavor chicle - choosing peppermint as the first flavor named Yucatan chewing gum
1882 – Dr. Edward Beeman adds pepsin powder to chicle & promotes as digestive aid
1886 – Jonathan Primely makes the first fruit-flavored gum and a gum called Kis-Me
1888 – Adams “Tutti Frutti” becomes first chewing gum in vending machine.
Placed in NYC subway stations.
1890s – Gum vending machines become popular
1897 – Pulver adds animated figures
1891 – William Wrigley Jr. entered the gum the Vassar, Lotta & Sweet 16 brands.
1892 – Wrigley introduces Spearmint Pepsin gum
1893 – Wrigley introduces Juicy Fruit gum.
1911 – Gum added to Beech--Nut product line
1890 – Henry Fleer invents Chiclets
- Chiclets was the first candy-coated chewing commercially made and marketed in the gum commercially made and marketed in the world
1899 – Dentyne gum was created by NewYork druggist Franklin V. Canning
1899 – American Chicle Company Formed
Amalgamation of: Adams Gum (Thomas Adams), Yucatan Gum (William White), Beeman’s Gum (Dr. Edward Yucatan Gum (William White), Beeman’s Gum (Dr. Edward Beeman), KisBeeman), Kis-Me Gum (Jonathan Primley), and S.T. Britten.Me Gum (Jonathan Primley), and S.T. Britten.
1907 – Gumballs and gumball machines introduced
1914 – Wrigley introduces Doublemint gum
1914 – Adams introduces Clove gum
1914 – American Chicle Company buys Sen-Sen Company (Fleer, Curtis, etc.)
1916 – American Chicle Co. acquires Dentyne Gum
1920 – Clark Bros. Chewing Gum Co. Clark Bros. Chewing Gum Co.
1927 – Wrigley introduces PK Gum - Discontinued in 1975
1928 – Walter Diemer (Fleer Gum Co.) invents Bubble Gum
Christened Dubble Bubble Gum
1930s – Gum trading Cards Introduced
1933 – Peter Paul Co. sells a charcoal gum - advertise on Mounds box
1939 – The FFDCA Act - Classifies gum as a food Classifies gum as a food
- FDA tells gum companies they do not need to list ingredients like other foods
1939 – The Doublemint Twins make debut debut
1938 – Shorin Bros. begin Topps Company
Topps Bubble Gum becomes first change maker change maker
After WW II Bazooka Bubble Gum becomes popular
1944 – Wrigley takes Doublemint, Juicy Fruit and Spearmint gum off the market Due to war rationing of raw materials
- To protect quality and reputation of gums
- Wrigley markets Orbit as wartime gum
During WWII US military spread the popularity of chewing gum to Europe, Asia, Africa and around the world.
1946 – Wrigley reintroduces Spearmint and Juicy Fruit
1947 – Wrigley reintroduces Doublemint
1950 – Harvey’s Sugarless Gum Debuted
Artificial sweetener Cyclamate introduced - 1970 – Cyclamate banned in U.S
William Wrigley Jr. 1862-1932 - “Chewing Gum King of Kings”
Two sticks of gum with each can of baking soda
One can of baking soda with each bar of soap
1891 – Wm. Wrigley moves to Chicago to sell family soap
Wrigley sells only gum but with premiums
1907 – Wrigley designs spear-like grinning gnome
1911 – Wrigley buys Zeno Manufacturing Co.
1915 – Wrigley introduces “Mother Goose” to the children of the World six to 60”
1915 – Wrigley mails three sticks of gum to everyone listed in telephone directories (1.5m)
1919 – Wrigley repeats sending gum to everyone listed in directories (7million)
Wrigley mailed two sticks of gum to 750,000 22-year-olds every year on their birthdays.
At one time during the early 1900s each of the 62,200 street and subway train cars in America carried a Wrigley’s poster
1919 – Wrigley Purchases Santa Catalina Island
1920 – Wrigley Building in 1924 in Chicago