Theodor Tobler

Theodor Tobler (24 January 1876 – 4 May 1941) was a Swiss chocolatier and businessman, best known as the creator, along with Emil Baumann, of the Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone.

Theodor Tobler was born in Bern on 24 January 1876 to Johann Jakob Tobler and Adeline Lorenz Tobler (née Baumann). After attending school in Bern from 1885 to 1892, he went on to receive a commercial education in Geneva and Venice. In 1894, Tobler entered his father's business and in 1899, Johann Jakob Tobler transformed the confectionery shop into a chocolate factory named Fabrique de Chocolat Berne, Tobler & Cie, which he handed over to Tobler in 1900.

In 1908, Theodor Tobler and his cousin Emil Baumann created the iconic Toblerone chocolate bar, combining Tobler's surname with torrone, the Italian word for honey and almond nougat. They applied for a patent for the manufacturing process in Bern in 1909, and trademarked the brand the same year, making it the first patented milk chocolate with almonds and honey. Tobler left the company in 1933 and later founded the enterprise Typon AG in Burgdorf which produced films for the graphic industry, and also acquired the distribution rights in Switzerland for Wrigley chewing gum. He was also a witness at the Bern Trial on behalf of the freemasonry before his death in Bern on 4 May 1941.