Today in Interjectionary Confectionery History: 2/28

Four score and sixteen years ago today, one of the most memorable and enduring names in candy bar-dom was first registered as a trademark in the United States.  On February 28, 1922, the Williamson Candy Company was granted U.S. Registration No. 152550 for the mark OH HENRY! for “candy.”  According to current owner Nestlé, which acquired the U.S. rights to the OH HENRY! brand in 1984, “many people mistakenly assume OH HENRY! was named after the famous ball player Hank Aaron, but the true origin of the name is much more amusing”:

Way back when, there was a little candy shop owned by George Williamson.  A young fellow by the name of Henry who visited this shop on a regular basis became friendly with the young girls working there.  They were soon asking favors of him, clamoring Oh Henry, will you do this?, and Oh Henry, will you do that?  So often did Mr. Williamson hear the girls beseeching poor young Henry for help, that when he needed a name for a new candy bar, he called it OH HENRY! and filed a trademark application the following year.

And the rest, as they say, is interjectionary confectionery history.  After nearly a century, the OH HENRY! brand is still in use (and is still purportedly “a great-tasting candy bar” with “lots of caramel, peanuts and fudge, wrapped in rich Nestlé Classic Milk Chocolate!”), and the 152550 registration remains in force.

Dysprosia [BSD (http://opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Dysprosia [BSD (http://opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php)], via Wikimedia Commons.