(Information from National Confectioners Association)

1800s

• 1854 The first packaged box of Whitman's chocolate debuts.
• 1868 Richard Cadbury introduces the first Valentine's Day box of chocolates.
• 1880s Wunderle Candy Company creates candy corn. In 1898, Goelitz Confectionery Company began making candy corn and has made this Halloween favorite longer than any other company.
• 1893 William Wrigley, Jr. introduces Juicy Fruit gum and Wrigley's Spearmint gum.
• 1896 Tootsie Rolls debut, introduced by Leo Hirshfield of New York who named them after his daughter's nickname, "Tootsie".

1900s

• 1900 Milton S. Hershey of Lancaster, PA introduces the first Hershey milk chocolate bar.
• 1901 The King Leo pure peppermint stick candy was developed and trademarked. The stick has been in continuous production since then and is still offered today in old-fashioned gift tins with the King Leo Lion motif by its current manufacturer, Quality Candy Company, Inc.
• 1901 Pastel-colored little candy disks called NECCO wafers first appear named for the acronym of the New England Confectionery Company.
• 1902 Necco makes the first conversation hearts - tiny Valentine's Day favorites with messages printed on them.
• 1905 The Squirrel Brand Company of Massachusetts creates the first peanut bar.
• 1906 Hershey's Kisses chocolates appear in their familiar foil wraps.

1910s

• 1912 Life Savers, the candy named for its ring shape with the hole in the center is introduced in peppermint flavor. It would be 22 years before the popular five-flavor roll is introduced.
• 1912 The Whitman's Sampler box of chocolates is born when the company president decides the needlework sampler hanging in his home would make beautiful packaging. It is the the first box of chocolates to include a now-famous index showing the filling in each candy.
• 1913 Goo Goo Clusters, a Southern favorite, was the first bar to combine milk chocolate, caramel, marshmallow and peanuts.

1920s

• 1920 Fannie May Candies opens its first candy shop in Chicago producing a variety of chocolate enrobed buttercreams and caramels.
• 1920 The Baby Ruth candy bar is first sold, named for President Grover Cleveland's daughter - not the famous baseball player.
• 1921 Chuckles - colorful, sugared jelly candies are first made.
• 1922 Goldenberg's Peanut Chews are first made in Philadelphia and soon became popular along the East Coast.
• 1923 Mounds, the double candy bar, offered a coconut filling enrobed in chocolate.
• 1923 M&M/Mars Milk Way Bar is the first of many candies to be introduced by the Mars family, created to taste like a malted milk that would be available anywhere, any time.
• 1925 Bit-O-Honey debuts, the honey-flavored taffy bar made with bits of almond.
• 1926 Milk Duds are introduced as bite-size caramel morsels covered in chocolate.
• 1928 Crunchy Heath Bars appear, offering chocolate covered toffee.
• 1928 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, named for the man who created them, are a peanut butter-chocolate combination among the most popular candy bars today.

1930s

• 1930 M&M/Mars introduces the Snickers Bar, named for a favorite horse owned by the Mars family. It is the number-one selling candy bar in the U.S. today.
• 1931 Tootsie Roll Pops are introduced and soon widely advertised as the lollipop that offers two candies in one - flavored hard candy on the outside and chewy Tootsie Roll center inside.
• 1931 Valomilk, the creamy marshmallow center candy bar, was created by accident when a candymaker at Sifers Candy Company forgot about a batch of cooking marshmallow and it remained runny when cooled. Combined with chocolate, it made a wonderful, gooey treat.
• 1932 MARS® Almond Bar introduced by M&M/MARS
• 1932 Katherine Beecher Butter Mints are melt-in-your mouth butter mints perfected by Katherine Beecher in her Manchester, PA candy company where they are still made today, according to the original recipe.
• 1932 Red Hots are made by Ferrara Pan Candy Company. These fiery little candy pellets are flavored with cinnamon.
• 1932 M&M/Mars debuts the 3 Musketeers Bar, originally made as a three-flavor bar featuring chocolate, vanilla and strawberry nougat. In 1945, it was changed to all chocolate nougat.
• 1936 The 5th Avenue Bar was originated by the man perhaps best known for his cough drops - William H. Luden. It was made from layers of peanut butter crunch coated in milk chocolate.
• 1938 Bartons was founded, they are the maker of "Almond Kisses", two almonds surrounded by caramel. They are now owned by Cherrydale Farms/Haddinton Farms.
• 1939 Hershey's Miniatures chocolate bars debut.

1940s

• 1941 "M&M's" Plain Chocolate Candies are introduced in response to slack chocolate sales in summer. Fifty-nine years later, M&M/Mars changed the name of this popular candy item to "M&M's" Milk Chocolate Candies.
• 1942-1945 Women working on the Whitman's Sampler production line secretly slipped notes to soldiers in those boxes destined for military shipment. The notes resulted in several long-term friendships and even a few marriages.
• 1949 Junior Mints offered soft mint centers drenched in dark chocolate.
• 1949 Smarties small pastel candy disks are introduced, followed by the Smarties Necklace nine years later.
• 1949 El Bubble Bubble Gum Cigars are the first five-cent bubble gum. In the mid-1980s, the same company began to make pink and blue bubble gum cigars to celebrate births.

1950s

• 1954 Marshmallow Peeps are introduced by Just Born, Inc. in the shape of Easter chicks. Today, Peeps come in a variety of seasonal shapes and more than 2 million Peeps are made each day.
• 1950 Bobs Candy Canes, sold under the Cris Cringle brand, are introduced nationwide. Legend has it that candy canes were originally created by a German choirmaster.

1960s

• 1960 M&M/Mars Starburst Fruit Chews are introduced and later fortified with 50 percent of the daily value for Vitamin C.
• 1960 Blammo becomes the first sugar free, soft bubble gum introduced by Amurol Confections.
• 1960 Lemonheads are created by Ferrara Pan Candy Company, later inspiring the introduction of Grapeheads, Appleheads, Orangeheads and others.
• 1963 SweeTarts The candy pellets with the original sweet and tart flavor combination are introduced.

1970s

• 1970 Snickers Munch Bar introduced by M&M/MARS
• 1976 Introduced by Herman Goelitz Candy Company, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans offer consumers fun and unique flavors in a tiny jelly bean.
• 1978 Hershey's Reese's Pieces bite-size candies are introduced and four years later made popular by the blockbuster movie E.T.
• 1979 TWIX Caramel Cookie Bars introduced in the U.S. by M&M/MARS

1980s

• 1980 Goelitz introduces the first American-made gummy bears and gummy worms. Formerly, these candies were imported from Europe.
• 1981 A European favorite since 1974, SKITTLES Bite Size Candies are introduced in the U.S. by M&M/MARS

1990s

• 1992 DOVE Dark Chocolate Bar and DOVE Milk Chocolate Bar introduced nationally by M&M/MARS
• 1994 Blitz Power Mints are one of several strong mints introduced in the 1990s as the breath freshener category grows.
• 1994 STARBURST® Jellybeans introduced by M&M/MARS
• 1996 Zingos, another one of several strong mint introductions, is created by Brown & Haley.
• 1998 Holopops become the first hologram lollipops introduced by Light Vision Confections. The design on their etched surface appears to change as you move the pop.
• 1999 Sound Bites Lollipops from Cap Candies is the first radio-lollipop combination in the growing interactive candy segment.

2000s

• 2001 "M&M's"® Dulce de Leche Caramel Chocolate Candies introduced to tap into growing Latino market