Harry Burnett "H. B." Reese (May 24, 1879 – May 16, 1956) was an American inventor known for creating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company. He was born in York County, Pennsylvania on an agricultural and dairy farm. He married Blanche Edna (Hyson) Reese on August 1, 1900. By 1928, H. B. and Blanche had sixteen good reasons (children) to invent the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
He first moved to Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1917, where he enjoyed a relatively prosperous job on a dairy farm owned by The Hershey Company until the farm was closed by Hershey's. Not long after moving his family to Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Reese moved back to Hershey, again working for Hershey's. Always an entrepreneur and inspired by his work, Reese began experimenting with candies in his basement, by 1923 he created the H. B. Reese Candy Company. He built a new home and factory for his growing business in 1926, selling a large assortment of candies. Then in 1928, H. B. Reese invented the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. H.B. Reese initially sold his many candies on consignment to retail stores, but by 1935 he was a success and was able to burn all his mortgages.
During World War II, economic constraints and scarcity of materials led him to discontinue his other candies and concentrate solely on his peanut butter cups, his most popular offering.