Henry Clarke

Who was Henry Clarke?

Henry DeBrunner Clarke Jr. was an American businessman and venture capitalist. Clarke is credited with expanding the Klondike bar from its origins as a local dessert, eaten in parts of Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, into a popular, national ice cream brand.

Clarke was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1933. He graduated from Carson Long Military Academy, a boarding school in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. Clarke earned a bachelor's degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Clarke founded his own company, Clabir, headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. The name "Clabir" was created by combining his last name "Clarke" with his mother's name, "Bird." By the 1970s and 1980s, Clabir enjoyed widespread from Wall Street and the larger business community. Clabir controlled a number of companies ranging from consumer food products to defense, including General Defense, which manufactured military hardware, including tank ordnance.

IN 1976, Clarke purchased the rights to the Klondike bar, frozen vanilla ice cream square which had been manufactured and sold by the Isaly's restaurant chain since the 1930s.