Chester Platt

Chester Childs Platt (October 30, 1857 – May 3, 1934) was a newspaper publisher and drugstore operator in Ithaca, New York, who was credited with the invention of the ice cream sundae. He also published papers in Batavia, New York, and Madison, Wisconsin.

Early life Chester Childs Platt was born on October 30, 1857, in Somers, New York, to Mary (née Childs) and William K. Platt. His father was a minister. He spent most of his youth in Ludlowville, New York.

Career At the age of 18, Platt began conducting business. He had a drug store in Ludlowville. He sold the drug store and a hardware business he owned around 1885. He was then a salesman for a New York wholesale firm. In 1884, he moved to Ithaca, New York. In Ithaca, he purchased the O. D. Curran Drug Store and went into business with Park Colt and renamed the firm Platt & Colt. He continued the business until 1900. At the store, he is credited with inventing the ice cream sundae.

In 1888, Platt took an active role in the tariff reform campaign alongside the Reform Club of New York. He gave lectures on liberal topics to the Harvard Liberal Club, Hunter College's history club, Union Theological Seminary's contemporary club, Vassar college's political association, Rann School and the Brookwood Labor College. He also published a weekly political column called "Human Behavior". The column was published weekly in the Capital Times. He wrote books on political and economic topics, including the book What La Follette's State is Doing.

Platt was vice president of the Open Air Forum in Williams Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. He became a fraternal delegate of the St. Petersburg Central Labor Union around 1926. He was a regular attendee of the Florida Federation of Labor Convention and a friend of American Federation of Labor leader William Green. He supported Republican Robert M. La Follette in the 1924 presidential election and led a delegation in support to the 1924 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He was a founding member of the Ithaca Business Men's Association and the DeWitt Historical Society of Ithaca. He was also a member of the New York State Democratic Editorial Association, the Western New York Newspaper Publishers' Association and the Holland Club.

Personal life Platt married Mary "Minnie" F. Brown on August 23, 1880. They had two sons, Chester C. Jr. and Hugh Malcolm. They had a summer home in Rye, New York. He vacationed in the winters at St. Petersburg, Florida, starting around 1925. He was a member of the board of trustees of the United Liberal Church of St. Petersburg. He served as president of the church's men's club. He was a trustee of the Unitarian Church in Ithaca. He traveled frequently to Europe to support his political articles.

Platt died of pneumonia on May 3, 1934, at Mound Park Hospital in St. Petersburg. He was buried in Lake View Cemetery in Ithaca.