East Hanover Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 11,393. The town was incorporated in 1928. The headquarters of the Nabisco company (now owned by Kraft Foods) and the pharmaceutical company Novartis are located in East Hanover. The name Hanover came from the House of Hanover in Germany. This namesake was given to the Township of Hanover (which included present-day East Hanover) on December 7, 1720 as a sign of respect to King George I of the House of Hanover, the British king who ruled over the American colonies in the eighteenth century. Unique among towns, East Hanover is defined by the joining of two rivers, the Whippany River to the west and north and the Passaic River to the east and north. This geographic effect led to the early name of East Hanover, "Hanover Neck. " Since the creation of Hanover Township in 1720, its size has been considerably decreased as the population of the area has increased. Originally encompassing Morris County and parts of both Sussex and Warren County, Hanover Township became too unwieldy for a single local government as time passed. The members of the government felt that Hanover Township needed to break apart into smaller towns that could provide more responsive local control, even if it meant increased taxes to support new facilities for each. East Hanover as formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1928, from portions of Hanover Township, subject to the results of referendum held on May 9, 1928.