New York Times Obituary: DR. E. E. BEEMAN DEAD.

On November 7 1906 The New York Times printed Dr. Edwin E. Beeman's obituary. It reads......

DR. E.E. BEEMAN DEAD.; Chewing Gum King Gave Up Medicine to Become a Manufacturer.

Special to The New York Times,

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Nov. 6. -Dr. Edwin E. Beeman, who was known as the "Chewing Gum King," died here early this morning. He has been afflicted with paralysis for several years. Twenty-five years ago Dr. Beeman gave up practice of medicine here for the manufacture of chewing gum. It was said that the idea of combining pepsin with gum was suggested to him by a young women who worked in a newsstand where he bought gum, and that he always took good care of her after he made millions.

Dr. Beeman often said that the success for his business was due in great measure to his advertising campaign. Everywhere was the picture of Dr. Beeman with the words telling the virtues of pepsin gum. He took into partnership W. J. White, now of New York. Dr Beeman sold out his chewing gum interests several years ago.

You can see the link to the pdf file here. We still don't know when Dr. Edwin E. Beeman was born, but we at least now know that he died on Nov, 6, 1906.

One more interesting thing to note from this article, it mentions that he got the idea to put pepsin into chewing gum from a girl working at a newsstand. On our beemans gum history page, we wrote that....

It was actually his bookkeeper, Nellie Horton, who suggested that he put the pepsin into chewing gum. Until then, Dr. Beeman had been selling bottles of powdered pepsin.

It may be that the New York Times was wrong.

If anyone has any supporting evidence to back up either claim, please let us know.