{{Short description|American druggist and businessman}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = Benjamin Faunce.jpeg | alt = | caption = | birth_date = 1873 | birth_name = Benjamin Rice Faunce Jr. | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1949|04|27|1873}} | education = | occupation = Druggist | known_for = Inventing Boost! | spouse = {{plainlist| * Mable C. Lewis * Maude F. Faunce }} | children = 3 }} '''Benjamin Rice Faunce Jr.''' (1873–1949) was an American druggist and businessman who created the soft drink Boost! and established the Boost! Company.<ref name="Riverside">{{Cite web|title=Historical Society|url=https://riversidetwp.org/historical-society/|access-date=11 September 2022|website=Riverside Township|date=January 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911193116/https://riversidetwp.org/historical-society/|url-status=live|archive-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>
==Early life== Faunce was born in 1873 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Benjamin Rice Faunce and Clarinda Lockard.<ref name="1910 Census">{{Cite web|title=Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population|date=1910|url=https://ibb.co/r6zrmDT|access-date=12 September 2022|website=United States Department of Commerce and Labor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912064821/https://ibb.co/r6zrmDT|archive-date=12 September 2022|url-status=usurped|quote=Benjamin R. {{!}} Son in law {{!}} M {{!}} W {{!}} 36}}</ref><ref name="Marriage">{{Cite web|title=Marriage License|url=https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2021/299/116707673_f6c5cb79-f100-4eb8-bb0a-3f82d5a2931f.jpeg|access-date=11 September 2022|website=New York State Department of Health|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911201159/https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2021/299/116707673_f6c5cb79-f100-4eb8-bb0a-3f82d5a2931f.jpeg|url-status=live|archive-date=11 September 2022}}</ref>
==Career== Faunce later moved to Riverside, New Jersey where he became a licensed druggist in 1905.<ref name="Marriage"/><ref name="Burlington County Times">{{Cite web|first=Sally|last=Friedman|title=Burlington County's 'Boost!' marks 100th anniversary|url=https://eu.burlingtoncountytimes.com/story/news/2013/07/02/burlington-county-s-boost-marks/17432764007/|date=2 July 2013|access-date=7 September 2022|website=Burlington County Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907183515/https://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/story/news/2013/07/02/burlington-county-s-boost-marks/17432764007/|url-status=live|archive-date=7 September 2022}}</ref> He sold remedies he had created such as headache capsules, cough syrup and toothpaste.<ref name="Njcom"/> Faunce reportedly set out to create a soft drink without bubbles and around 1910, invented a drink which he called "Tak-Aboost".<ref name="Inquirer">{{Cite web|first=Tommy|last=Rowan|title=A flat, thick, weird-tasting soda you'll only find in Jersey: 'This is our crack'|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philly-history/boost-soda-flat-riverside-south-jersey-20170915.html|date=15 September 2017|access-date=7 September 2022|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907064026/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/philly-history/boost-soda-flat-riverside-south-jersey-20170915.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|archive-date=7 September 2022}}</ref> He dispensed the drink in concentrated form from a soda fountain.<ref name="Njcom"/> In 1913, after years of experimenting with the drink, Faunce registered the brand as a trademark.<ref name="Njcom"/>
He formed the Boost! Company on May 15, 1915, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling the product.<ref name="Justia"/> He opened "Boost" shops in places near Riverside such as Burlington and Palmyra.<ref name="Njcom">{{Cite web|first=Amanda|last=Hoover|title=This N.J.-made drink tastes like flat Coke and we can't get enough of it|url=https://www.nj.com/burlington/2017/08/the_history_of_boost.html|date=28 August 2017|access-date=7 September 2022|website=NJ.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907064359/https://www.nj.com/burlington/2017/08/the_history_of_boost.html|url-status=live|archive-date=7 September 2022}}</ref> Faunce was president of the Boost Company until his death on April 27, 1949.<ref name="Justia">{{Cite web|title=Boost Co. v. Faunce|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/1952/17-n-j-super-458-0.html|date=1952|access-date=9 September 2022|website=Justia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909180534/https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/1952/17-n-j-super-458-0.html|url-status=live|archive-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>
==Personal life== He was married to Mable C. Lewis and later Maude F. Faunce and had three sons called B. Paul Faunce, Randle B. Faunce and E. Lester Stockton, Sr. who were employees of the Boost! Company.<ref name="Marriage"/><ref name="Justia"/> Faunce's granddaughter Helen Faunce Anderson also worked for the company.<ref name="Burlington County Times"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faunce, Benjamin}} Category:1873 births Category:1949 deaths Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American inventors Category:American businesspeople in the drink industry Category:Businesspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey Category:People from Riverside Township, New Jersey Category:Pharmacists from New Jersey Category:20th-century American pharmacists
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