Culinary Timeline
Eddybles
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13,000 BC There is evidence of beekeeping on prehistoric rock paintings.
12,000 BC Wild grasses are harvested by the Natufians in the Levant.
10,000 BC The Middle East domesticates goats.
9,000 BC Sheep are domesticated.
8,500 BC Wheat, barley, chickpeas, peas, beans, flax and bitter vetch are harvested in the Fertile Crescent.
8,000 BC China domesticates the pig.
7,000 BC Cultivation of wheat, sesame, barley, and eggplant in Mehrgarh region of India and Pakistan.
6,800 BC Rice is cultivated in China.
6,500 BC Cattle are domesticated.
6,000 BC Evidence of granaries in India and Pakistan for storage of excess food.
6,000 BC India domesticates the chicken.
6,000 BC Peru cultivates lima beans.
5,000 BC The Book of Genesis recommends anise seed as a cure for cholera and plague.
5,000 BC China cultivates rice.
5,000 BC Peru domesticates the guinea pig.
5,000 BC Egypt domesticates the donkey.
4,000 BC Evidence of horse domestication in the Ukraine.
4,000 BC Egyptians discover how to make bread using yeast.
4,000 BC Peas, sesame seeds, dates, and cotton are cultivated in India and Pakistan.
4,000 BC China domesticates the water buffalo.
3,500 BC Peru domesticates the llama.
3,000 BC Potatoes are cultivated in the Andes Mountains.
3,000 BC China domesticates the silkworm.
3,000 BC Fermentation of grain, fruit juice and dough is in practice.
3,000 BC Turmeric, cardamom, pepper and mustard are harvested in the Indus Valley.
3,000 BC Egypt domesticates the rock pigeon.
2,500 BC Central Asia domesticates the Bactrian Camel.
2,500 BC Tibet domesticates the yak.
1,500 BC Europe domesticates the goose.
1,000 BC China domesticates the duck.
1,000 BC Siberia domesticates the reindeer.
776 BC Coroebus of Elis is a chef who won the sprint race in 776 BC and is listed as the first Olympic champion.
500 BC Turkey domesticates the turkey.
500 BC Sugar produced in India.
500 BC The iron plough is invented in China which leads to row cultivation.
350 BC One of the earliest cookbooks is penned by Archestratus. He titles it 'Hedypatheia' (Pleasant Living).
300 BC China invents trace harvesting for plowing.
200 BC China invents collar harvesting for plowing.
100 BC Oyster beds are cultivated by the Romans.
100 BC China invents the multi-tube seed drill.
2nd Century BC Athenaeus, a Greek gourmet, writes Deipnosophistai (The Learned Banquet) is written by the Greek gourmet Athenaeus.It contains a dialogue in which two diners discuss food and recipes over the course of a multi-day banquet.
23AD-1000AD
23 AD The Roman author Pliny The Elder is born. He wrote the 37 volume Natural History where 2000 books from over 500 authors are compiled.
79 AD Pliny The Elder dies.
100 AD Apicius receives credit for penning De Re Coquinaria (On Cookery), the world's oldest surviving cookbook.
100 AD A freed slave, Marcus Virgilius Euryasaces invents the first mechanical dough mixer which consisted of a stone slab with wooden paddles powered by a donkey or horse. The animal walked in a circle and kneaded the dough as it moved.
408 AD Rome is attacked by the Visogoths who demand as part of their ransom 3000 pounds of black pepper.
450 AD The Chinese invented the wheelbarrow by this date.
600 AD China is distilling alcohol.
742 AD Charlemagne is born and during his reign the fork is used to eat food as opposed to fingers and the first peacock is served at a banquet.
800 AD Africa is using coffee beans for various purposes but it is not yet consumed as a beverage.
814 AD Charlemagne dies.
900 AD The Chinese begin farm raising fish.
1000 AD The Middle East begins to roast coffee beans for use as a beverage.
1135AD-1500AD
1135 AD King Henry I of England (1068-1135) dies after severe indigestion from consumption of a moray eel.
1200 AD Egyptians begin cultivating okra.
1239 AD King Edward I of England is born (1239-1307, ruled 1272-1307). At his coronation in 1272, 278 bacon hogs, 450 pigs, 440 oxen, 430 sheep and 22,600 hens and capons are consumed by the guests.
1265 AD London founds the produce market Covent Garden.
1300 AD Huou, A chef of Kublai Khan's court named Huou pens a collection of recipes and household advice entitled "The Important Things to Know About Eating and Drinking" .
1307 AD William Tell shoots the infamous apple from his son's head.
1368 AD Charles VI of France was born. During his reign he grants sole rights to the aging of Roquefort cheese to the town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon where it must still be aged today.
1375 AD Guillaume Tirel (Taillevent) writes the French cookbook 'Le Viander'.
1383 AD Germany founds the Lowenbrau brewery.
1390 AD "The Forme of Cury' Is written at around this time. It is the oldest surviving cookbook written in English.
1444 Bavarian merchants discovered selling adulterated saffron are burned alive.
1449 The Florentine Lorenzo de Medici is born.
1491 Henry VIII of England is born.
1492 Christopher Columbus sails from Spain in August and arrives in the Bahamas in October.
1493 Columbus returns to Spain.
1494 Columbus meets the Arawak Indians in Jamaica. The Arawak used allspice to smoke and season meat and it is this recipe that Jerk seasoning is based upon.
1495 Scotch Whiskey is first mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland.
1497 Vasco de Gama leaves Lisbon in search of a sea route to India.
1498 The German botanist Hieronymus Bock dies. He is credited with helping transition medieval medicinal treatments to modern science.
1500AD-1700AD
1501 Leonhard Fuchs was born. The German botanist Leonhard Fucks is born. Throughout his lifetime he compiled the first modern glossary of botanical terms. The color fuschia is named in honor of him.
1503 Nostradamus is born. Famous as an astrologer, he also wrote several cookbooks including 'Excellent er Moult Utile Opuscule a tous necessaire qui desirent avoir connaissance de plusieurs exq uises recettes' (An excellent and most useful little work essential to all who wish to become acquainted with some exquisite recipes).
1506 Christopher Columbus dies.
1508 The Englishman William Turnerwas is born. He is known as the father of English botany and his most famous work is titled "A New Herball."
1513 Ponce de Leon arrives in Florida searching for the Fountain of Youth.
1516 The Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV establishes one of the world's first consumer protection laws. It was called The Rheinheitsgebot (purity law) and stated that beer could only be brewed from water, hops and barley malt.
1521 Martin Luther appears at the Roman Assembly the Diet of Worms
1534 The German botanist Otto Brunfels dies. His work is credited with bridging the gap between medieval and modern botany.
1539 The Spaniard Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain.
1550 It is believed that the world's first restaurant opens in Constantinople.
1550 Chocolate arrives in Europe.
1553 The Italian physician and botanist Prospero Alpini is born. He is credited with introducing Europe to bananas and coffee and was the first to artificially fertilize date palms.
1558 Smoking tobacco is introduced to Europe by Francisco Fernandes.
1564 William Shakespeare is born and 52 years later dies on his birthday.
1566 Nostradamus dies.
1568 A method to bottle beer is invented by the Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral.
1582 The Parisien restaurant Tour d'Argent opens for the first time.
1582 Most Christian countries adopt the Gregorian calendar.
1586 Potatoes are introduced to Europe by Sir Thomas Harriot.
1589 The woman credited with introducing haute cuisine to France, Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II of France dies. When she arrived in France from Italy she brought with her ice cream, the fork and had a strong influence on the development of sophisticated dining in France.
1590 Sicilians cultivate the blood orange.
1600 In order to compete with the East Indian spice trade, The British East India Company is established by royal charter.
1602 The Dutch East India Company is founded in the Netherlands. It is granted a trade monopoly with Asia.
1607 Marechal d'Estrees passes the secret formula for the liqueur Chartreuse to the French Carthusian monks.
1615 Tea is first imported to Europe.
1617 Prospero Alpini dies.
1620 Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth Rock on board the Mayflower.
1626 A book written by John Firth on religious treatise is found in the belly of a cod fish at a market in Cambridge, England.
1627 A poacher in Warsaw, Poland kills the last auroch, ancestor of all domesticated cattle.
1629 Horses are exported to America.
1630 John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony introduces the fork to America.
1631 English colonists in America hold the first Thanksgiving dinner. They are introduced to many new food item at this event. One is popcorn, brought by a Native American named Quadequina.
1633 The Inquisition in Rome forces Galileo to renounce his theory that Earth revolves around the sun.
1634 The first tavern in the United States is opened by Samuel Cole in Boston.
1637 In an effort to prevent anyone from stabbing his while he feasted, Cardinal Richelieu orders that all knives be rounded, inadvertently inventing the first butter knife.
1642 Sir Isaac Newton is born.
1643 The gourmand Louis XIV, King of France is born. Food was served in courses in France for the first time during his reign.
1647 The inventor of the pressure cooker, a French physicist named Denis Papin is born. It was called Papin's Digester.
1652 La Varenne writes 'Le Cuisinier Francois'.
1655 The first vineyard is planted in South Africa by the first governor of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1659, the first grapes were pressed for wine.
1659 Christmas is banned in Boston by the pilgrims who believed it was a decadent celebration. The ban was lifted in 1681.
1660 The Portuguese butcher Asser Levy applies for a license to sell kosher meat and becomes the first kosher butcher of New Amsterdam (New York).
1666 13,000 buildings are destroyed in a four day fire in London that began in the building of the king's baker.
1670 The first candy canes are invented by the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral in an attempt to keep the children quiet during mass.
1673 The oldest tavern still in operation in the United States is built; The White Horse Tavern of Rhode Island.
1688 The English surgeon William Cheselden who first described the role of saliva in digestion is born.
1690 Bananas arrive in America for the first time.
1693 "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars" is uttered by Dom Perignon after he discovers the process for making champagne.
1700AD-1800AD
1706 Benjamin Franklin is born.
1710 The Belgian ballerina for whom Escoffier named many dishes, Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo is born.
1710 The French pastry cook Charles-Somon Favart is born in Paris.
1715 The first American to be granted an English patent (for a method to process corn), Sybilla Masters is born.
1716 The Scottish physician who recommended that citrus be served to seamen to prevent scurvy, James Lind is born.
1718 John Montague, The 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montague is born. He supposedly invented the sandwich in effort to produce a quick meal that would not disturb his card games.
1719 The first potato planted in the United States was planted In Londonderry Common Field, New Hampshire the first potato is planted in the United States.
1720 Gasparini, a Swiss pastry chef, invents meringue.
1727 Sir Isaac Newton dies.
1728 Captain James Cook is born. British explorer who charted and named many Pacific Islands, including the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
1733 England passes The Molasses Act. It imposes steep tariffs on molasses and rum imported to the colonies from any location other than Britain and its colonies.
1735 Paul Revere is born.
1741 The Centigrade temperature scale is invented by Anders Celsius.
1741 The founder of the sugar industry in Louisiana, Jean Etienne Bore is born.
1742 The Franklin stove is invented by Benjamin Franklin who would not patent it as he felt others should be able to freely copy the design.
1742 The first cookbook is published in America entitled 'The Complete Housewife, or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion' .
1745 Prince Charles Edward passes the secret formula for Drambuie liqueur to the Mackinnon family.
1747 Hanna Glasse is publishes the Arte of Cookery.
1747 The oldest cattle ranch in the US was started at The town of Montauk on Long Island, New York founds the oldest cattle ranch in the United States.
1748 An English engineer who invented a method to deliver beer from keg to glass without artificial carbonation, Joseph Bramah is born.
1749 The Frenchman Nicolas Appert who invented the canning process is born.
1752 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania opens the first hospital.
1753 The American physician Benjamin Thompson who is credited with inventing Baked Alaska is born.
1753 A contemporary and also rival of Careme, Jean Jacques Regis de Cambaceres is born in France. He held lavish banquets where complete silence was imposed and late comers were not admitted past the doors.
1754 The French statesman and gourmet Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord is born. His chefs included Bouchee, Careme, and Avice and many culinary techniques were created by him and also named after him.
1754 The French chemist Joseph-Louis Proust is born. He proved that the sugar extracted from grapes was identical to that extracted from honey.
1754 The French chef Antoine Beauvilliers is born. He is credited with founding the first luxury restaurant, La Grande Taverne de Londres.
1755 The inventor of Fine Bone China, Josiah Spode is born.
1755 The famous French gourmand Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is born.
1762 A Southern cook in the United States, Mary Randolph is born. She wrote "The Virginia Housewife" in 1824, considered by many to be the first southern cookbooks and one of the most influential cookbooks of the 19th century.
1764 The man who discovered glucose, Gottlieb Sigismund Kirchhof is born.
1764 The Englishman Charles Grey, 2nd Earl, is born. After saving the life of a Chinese man, he was given the recipe for Earl Grey tea.
1764 England passes The Sugar Act which placed new restrictions on the import of molasses to the United States.
1765 The chef Jean-Joseph Close of Strasbourg is said to have invented the first pâté de foie gras although the technique for producing foie gras is credited to the ancient Egyptians.
1765 Inventor of the cotton gin, Eli Whitney is born.
1766 The French gatronome who wrote 'Les Classiques de la table' Louis, Marquis de Cussy is born.
1766 A Scottish physician who is credited with first freezing water artificially, Sir John Leslie, is born.
1766 The man who received the first United States patent for refrigerating machine, Jacob Perkins is born.
1768 The French politician and writer for whom the dish Chateaubriand is named, Francois Auguste Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand is born.
1773 The Tea Act is passed by The British Parliament which is one of the actions that led to the American Revolution.
1773 The American Revolution begins after the Boston Tea Party takes place in this year.
1775 Pecan Trees are planted by George Washington at Mount Vernon. The trees were a gift to Washington from Thomas Jefferson and some of the trees survive today.
1777 The man considered to be the father of American botany, John Bartram dies. He founded the Philadelphia Botanical Garden in 1728.
1783 General George Washington bids farewell to his officers at Francaus Tavern in New York.
1784 The first cooking school of Great Britain is opened by E. Kidner.
1784 The French gourmand Marie-Antoine Carême iss born in Paris, France.
1785 The automatic flour milling machine that revolutionized the flour industry if invented by Oliver Evans of Newport, Delaware.
1785 The English chemist William Prout who was the first to classify food into carbohydrates, proteins and fat is born.
1785 The naturalist John James Audubon is born.
1785 Joseph Bramah patents the beer-pump handle.
1786 The first commercially produced ice cream is sold in New York City.
1786 The first organized agricultural movement in the United States, National Grange is founded.
1789 The first Bourbon Whiskey distilled from corn is created by Elijah Craig in Bourbon County, Kentucky.
1789 Thomas Jefferson returns to the United States with the first pasta maker in America after serving as the American Ambassador to France.
1789 Dr. Pierre Ordinaire creates The 'absinthe elixir' is created by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire in Switzerland.
1790 Benjamin Franklin dies.
1790 Jacob Schweppe invents the process of making artificial mineral water.
1790 Camembert Cheese is developed in Normandy by Marie Harel.1792 Oranges are introduced to Hawaii.
1792 The first issue of the 'Farmer's Almanac' is published.
1793 The kilogram, the first metric weight, is introduced in France.
1794 The inventor of the graham cracker, Sylvester Graham is born in West Suffield, Connecticut.
1794 The Swedish botanist who invented the first system for classifying fungi, Elias Fries is born.
1797 The recipe for Pierre Ordinaire's absinthe elixir is purchased by Major Dubied and together with his son, Henri-Louis Pernod he founds an absinthe factory in Switzerland.
1798 The first vineyard in America is planted in Lexington, Kentucky.
1798 Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, the son of Arthur Guinness, founder of the Guinness Brewery is born in Dublin.
1799 Congress passes the first United States weights and measures law.
1800AD-1900AD
1800 London opens the first soup kitchens to serve the poor.1801 Gail Borden, the inventor of the process for producing condensed milk is born in New York.
1804 Inventor of the first steel plow and founder of the company named after him in 1868, John Deere is born in 1804.
1804 John Wedgwood, founds the Royal Horticultural Society.
1805 A pupil of Careme an chef at the 19th century Parisien restaurant Cafe Anglais, Adolphe Duglere is born in France.
1805 The Viennese man Johann George Lehner invents the frankfurter.
1805 The Pernod Fils company is founded by Henri-Louis Pernod in Pontarlier, France.
1806 The apple cider mill is patented by Isaac Quintard.
1809 Charles Darwin is born.
1809 An American frontiersman, Kit Carson, American frontiersman, was born. The last words he uttered when he died were "Wish I had time for just one more bowl of chili."
1810 French chef, author and philathropist, Alexis Benoit Soyer is born. For more on Soyer, click here.
1810 Dolly Madison, wife of president James Madison, serves ice cream for the first time at the White House
1810 Oktoberfest is celebrated for the first time in Munich.
1811 Inventor of the drum thrushing machine, Andrew Meikle dies.
1812 Agoston Haraszthy de Mokcsa is born. He imported 1,400 varieties of grapevines to California in 1862 and planted the first large vineyard in California's Sonoma Valley. After a blight destroyed many of Europe's vineyards in the late 1860s, some of the same California vines, now on resistant root stock, helped rescue the German and French wine industries.
1813 The famed Swiss restaurateur Lorenzo Delmonico is born. He transformed his uncle's New York pastry and catering business Delmonico's into one of the most famous restaurants in America.
1814 John Lineback patents the cottonseed hulling machine.
1815 The first commercial cheese factory in the world is founded in Switzerland.
1817 Coffee is planted along the Kona Coast making it the first Hawaiian coffee crop.
1817 Henry David Thoreau is born.
1817 The French scientist who invented canned meat and margarine, Hippolyte Mege Mouries is born. A French scientist, he invented margarine and patented canned meat.
1818 The man who introduces the first biscuit tins George Palmer, of Hunter and Palmer Manufacturing is born.
1818 Paul Revere dies.
1818 The inventor of the first commercially successful chewing gum "Black Jack", Thomas Adams is born.
1819 The periodical, 'American Farmer' was founded by John Skinner found the periodical "American Farmer".
1822 Gregor (Johann) Mendel is born. He establishes the laws of heredity, the basis of the science of genetics through his study of garden peas.
1822 The French scientist Louis Pasteur is born. He invented pasteurization and also developed the vaccines for anthrax, rabies and cholera.
1825 Eli Whitney dies.
1825 New York natives Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett are granted the first U.S. patent for food storage in cans.
1825 La Physiologie du gout (The Physiology of Taste) is published by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
1826 Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Dies.
1827 Mardi Gras is held for the first time in New Orleans.
1828 Chocolate milk powder is patented in Amsterdam by Casparus van Wooden of Amsterdam.
1828 E. Leslie uses the word cup cake for the first time.
1828 The Dutchman C.J. Van Houten develops Dutch process cocoa powder.
1829 The oldest brewery still operating in the United States, Yuengling Brewery, opens in Pennsylvania.
1829 Sylvester Graham invents the Graham cracker.
1831 The pharmacist who invents Coca-Cola, John Styth Pemberton is born.
1831 The German physiologist whose work on metabolism helped establish modern nutritional science, Carl von Voit is born.
1831 Charles Darwin sets sail aboard the HMS Beagle for his historic five year journey.
1832 American industrialist Philip Danforth Armour is born. He was a pioneer in the use of refrigeration and meat canning.
1833 Marie-Antoine Careme dies in Paris at the age of 48.
1833 Jacob Ebert and George Dulty patent the first soda fountain.
1834 The first African American to be granted a patent, Henry Blair, received one for a corn planter he invented.
1834 The first U.S. patent for a refrigerating machine is granted to Jacob Perkins.
1835 Henry Burden was granted the first U.S. patent for a horseshoe manufacturing machine.
1835 American author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) is born.
1835 The famous hotelier Cesar Ritz is born in Niederwald, Switzerland.
1836 The inventor of the "Chuck Wagon", Charles Goodnight is born.
1841 Founder of the New York Cooking School in 1876, Juliet Corson is born. She was also the author of many books and articles including 'Cooking Manual' (1877), 'Twenty-five Cent Dinners for Families of Six' (1878) and 'Miss Corson's Practical American Cookery' (1886).
1841 A patent to produce starch from rice or corn is granted to Orlando Jones of Middlesex, England, who introduces cornstarch to the world.
1842 The Danish botanist Emil Chrstian Hansen is born. He developed new methods to culture yeast, revolutionizing the beer industry by proved that there are different species of yeast. He refused to patent his method and instead made it available for free to other brewers.
1842 Inventor of the original thermos the "Dewar Flask" Sir James Dewar is born.
1842 Founder of the home economics movement, Ellen Swallow Richards is born.
1842 or 1839 Adolphus Busch, founder of the world's largest brewery, Anheuser Busch, is born in Mainz, Germany.
1843 Napoleon E. Guerin receives the first U.S. patent for an egg incubator.
1843 Ivan Pavlov is born. He was the first to document that dogs salivate when they can smell, see or taste food.
1843 Charles Dickens publishes 'A Christmas Carol' was published.
1844 The last pair of Great Auks were killed near Iceland. They were hunted to extinction for food and bait. The great birds were almost 3 feet tall, with short wings, similar to penguins. They were also flightless, which made them vulnerable to hunters.
1844 The author of the original Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Mary Johnson Bailey Lincoln is born.
1844 Founder of the the H.J. Heinz company, Henry John Heinz is born.
1845 The inventor of the the centrifugal cream separator and a vacuum milking machine Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval is born in Sweden.
1845 'Modern Cookery for Private Families' by Eliza Acton is published in London.
1846 Ira Remsen was born. The American chemist, Ira Remsen, codiscoverer (with Constantine Fahlberg) of saccharin, is born.
1846 Auguste Escoffier is born.
1848 The first pure food laws were passed in the U.S.
1848 Francois Auguste Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand dies.
1848 Pasta is produced commercially in the U.S. for the first time.
1849 Self service restaurants first appear in San Francisco during the California gold rush of 1849.
1849 The 'Hangtown Fry' is invented during the California gold-rush. The Hangtown Fry is eggs, oysters and bacon cooked together, scrambled or an omelette.
1850 Sir Thomas Johnston Lipton, grocer and tea merchant, was born.
1850 The author of the first Creole cookbook. "La Cuisine Creole" Lafcadio Hearn is born.
1851 Maine is the first state in America to ban alcohol.
1851 The first commercial ice cream factory is opened in Baltimore by Jacob Fussell.
1851 The first cheese factory in the U.S. to make cheese from scratch was started in Rome, New York in 1851 by Jesse Williams.
1851 Sylvester Graham died in Northampton, Massachusetts. He advocated vegetarianism, temperance and the use of coarse ground whole wheat (graham) flour. He developed the Graham cracker in 1829.
1851 The first edition of the New York Times is published.
1852 John Harvey Kellogg is born.
1853 Self rising flour is invented by Henry Jones of Bristol.
1853 Native American Chef George Crum invented potato chips at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York.
1855 Bread Riots in Liverpool.
1856 The first Vegetarian Community was established in Kansas.
1856 George Bernard Shaw is born.
1857 The American culinarian Fannie Merritt Farmer is born.
1857 Milton Snaveley Hershey of chocolate fame was born.
1857 The first issue of the Atlantic Monthly was published. It contained the first installment of Oliver Wendell Holmes' 'The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.'
1858 Alexis Benoit Soyer dies.
1858 The Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman is born. His early discoveries led to the invention of vitamins.
1858 The Mason Jar is patented by John Landis Mason.
1859 The first milk inspector position is created in the United States.
1859 The first patent for an electric gas range is patented by George B. Simpson.
1859 The ammonia vapor-compression system for refrigeration is invented by Ferdinand Carre. Vapor compression is still the system most used today.
1862 The U.S. Bureau of Agriculture is established which became the USDA (Department of Agriculture) in 1889.
1862 The first Land Grant Act was passed. Public lands were sold for agricultural education. This was the start of many state universities.
1862 The inventor of puffed rice Dr. Alexander P. Anderson is born. It was introduced to the world at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
1863 Women rioted in Salisbury, North Carolina, to protest the lack of flour and salt in the Confederacy.
1863 Abraham Lincoln declares Thanksgiving Day an annual event celebrated on the last Thursday in November.
1863 J.T. Alden was issued a patent for a method of manufacturing dried yeast.
1863 The chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland is born. He invented Bakelite, the first plastic that did not soften when heated.
1863 The first breakfast cereal Granula is created by Dr. James C. Jackson of New York.
1865 A banquet of horse meat is held at the Grand Hotel in Paris.
1865 The French chef and creator of Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne is born.
1865 James H. Mason received the first U.S. patent for a coffee percolator.
1866 Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
1866 The metric system is authorized to standardize weights and measures in the U.S.
1866 The first tin can with a key opener is invented by J. Osterhoudt.
1867 At the Cafe Anglais Chef Adolphe Duglere served the famous 'Dinner of the Three Emperors,' for Tsar Alexander II of Russia, his son (later to become tsar Alexander III) and King William I of Prussia. The table service used for the dinner is still on display at the oldest existing restaurant in Paris, La Tour d'Argent.
1869 Frozen food is shipped long distance for the first time by steamship from Texas to New Orleans.
1869 Margarine is patented by Hippolyte Mege Mouries who won a prize offered by Emperor Napoleon III ti invent a substitute for butter to be used by the French Navy.
1869 Cornelius Swarthout receives the first U.S. patent for a waffle Iron.
1869 'Typhoid Mary' or Mary Mallon is born. She was an infamous household cook who was responsible for major outbreaks of typhoid in the New York City area in 1904, 1907, and 1914. She was immune to typhoid herself, but was a carrier of the bacillus, and spread it wherever she worked as a household cook.
1870 The creator of Wheaties, George Cormack, is born.
1870 A camel is listed on the Christmas Eve menu of Voison restaurant during the Siege of Paris in 1870.
1871 The inventor of stainless steel, Harry Brearley is born.
1871 Louisa Tetrazzini born. Italian operatic soprano. Chicken Tetrazzini, created by a New York chef, was named in her honor.
1872 A patent is received by Samuel R. Percy for dried milk.
1872 John F. Blondel of Thomason of Maine, patents the first doughnut cutter.
1872 Henry Tate, an English sugar merchant, patented a method of cutting sugar into small cubes.
1872 Alexandre Dumas' 'Grand dictionnaire de la cuisine' is published.
1872 The French gastronome and writer Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland) is born. He was given the title "Prince of Gastronomes," a title he was awarded in a public referendum in 1927, and a title no one else has ever been given.
1873 Luther Childs Crowell of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was granted a patent for a machine which made square bottom paper bags. It is the same basic design still used today.
1873 All of the United States Peking ducks in the U.S. are descended from 9 ducks imported to Long Island, New York.
1873 Adolphus Busch developed a method of pasteurizing beer so it could withstand temperature fluctuations, which enabled national distribution.
1874 The founder of Kraft Foods, James Lewis Kraft is born.
1875 The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is created.
1875 African American inventor A.P. Ashbourne receives a patent for a "Process Preparing Coconut for Domestic Use."
1875 The NY Dairy Company becomes the first business to sell milk in factory made bottles.
1876 Augustin Thompson creates Moxie, a carbonated soft drink from Lowell, Massachusetts.
1876 Canned sardines are sold in the U.S. for the first time.
1876 Foil wrapped bananas are sold for a dime at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
1878 The White House hosts the first Easter Egg Roll.
1878 Thomas Edison made electricity available for household usage.
1878 The first telephone was installed in the White House in Washington, D.C by Alexander Graham Bell.
1879 Nestle produces its first chocolate bar.
1879 Woolworths, the first chain store, opened in 1879 in Utica, New York.
1879 Saccharin is discovered by Constantine Fahlberg and Ira Remsen at Johns Hopkins University.
1879 The Cream Separator is patented.
1880 The cofounder of White Castle E.W. 'Billy Ingram is born.
1880 The wholesale price of Lobster is 10 cents per pound.
1881 The Loganberry, a cross between raspberry and blueberry is invented by James Harvey Logan of Santa Cruz.
1881 The Ice Cream Sundae was invented. Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, supposedly invented the Ice Cream Sundae, when he served a customer ice cream topped chocolate syrup (used to flavor ice cream sodas). It was a Sunday, and flavored soda water was not served on Sundays to respectable people.
1881 Dr. Satori Kato of Japan introduced the first instant coffee at the Pan American World Fair.
1882 Charles Darwin Died. Pioneering English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution. His works include 'Origin of Species' and 'The Descent of Man.'
1882 Swiss flour manufacturer Julius Maggi begins commercial production of the first bouillon cubes. He developed them so the poor had a cheap method for making nutritious soup.
1883 The Brooklyn Bridge opened. It took 14 years to build at a cost of $18 million, and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.
1883 The Orient Express made its first run from Paris to Constantinople.
1884 Casimir Funk was born. Funk was a Polish-American biochemist who came up with the word 'vitamine' later changed to 'vitamin.'
1884 Adolphe Duglere died. A pupil of Careme, head chef of the Rothschild family, and head chef of the famous 19th century Paris restaurant, the Cafe Anglais.
1884 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg applied for a patent for 'flaked cereal' (corn flakes). It was his brother Will Kieth Kellogg who became rich & famous by marketing the new cereal commercially.
1884 John Mayenberg, of St. Louis, Missouri, patented evaporated milk
1885 The Exchange Buffet opened, the first self service restaurant.
1885 Philadelphia brand cream cheese went on sale.
1885 Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles west of Waco, Texas, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.
1886 California oranges are first shipped East by rail.
1886 W. Marshall patented a 'grain binder.'
1886 Coca-Cola was invented by pharmacist John Styth Pemberton at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
1886 The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) was officially unveiled and dedicated in New York Harbor.
1886 Clarence Birdseye was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1924, Clarence Birdseye, with the financial backing of Wetmore Hodges, William Gamage, Basset Jones, I.L. Rice and J.J. Barry, organized the General Seafood Corporation. The birth of the frozen food industry.
1889 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'hamburger' first appeared in print in a Walla Walla, Washington newspaper.
1889 John Cadbury died. He was the founder of Cadbury chocolate company.
1889 The Savoy Hotel opened in London, with Cesar Ritz and Escoffier
1889 Dan Rylands patented a screw cap for bottles. He was employed at the Hope Glass Works, Barnsley, Yorkshire, England.
1889 Aunt Jemima Pancake flour mix was introduced. Invented at St. Joseph, Missouri it was the first self-rising flour for pancakes and the first ready-mix food ever to be introduced commercially.
1890 Peanut butter was developed by a St. Louis doctor for his patients with bad teeth.
1890 Rolla N. Harger was born. A biochemist, he invented the first successful test machine for blood alcohol content, the Drunkometer, in 1931.
1891 Fig Newtons were created by Kennedy Biscuit Works in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts
1892 Macadamia nuts were first planted in Hawaii.
1893 Good & Plenty candy was introduced by the Quaker City Confectionery Company of Philadelphia.
1893 R.W. Rueckheim invents Cracker Jack, a popcorn, peanut and molasses confection. It was introduced at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. R.W.'s brother Louis perfected the secret formula in 1896, which prevents the molasses coated popcorn from sticking together. The prize in each box was introduced in 1912.
1893 Henry D. Perky and William Ford patented shredded wheat. Whole wheat is boiled, dried, pressed into thin shreds and finally baked. They presented it at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. When their patent expired in the mid 1930s, the name became generic.
1893 Cream of Wheat was developed by Nabisco Foods.
1893 Juicy fruit chewing gum introduced.
1893 At the 1893 Chicago Fair, Pabst beer won a blue ribbon, and was called 'Pabst Blue Ribbon" beer from then on.
1894 Hershey's Chocolate Company was founded as a subsidiary of Milton S. Hershey's Lancaster Caramel Company.
1894 Coca Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenham of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Before that it was only mixed to order at the soda fountain.
1894 Percy Le Baron Spencer was born. Spencer developed the microwave oven in 1946, after he noticed that some chocolate in his pocket had melted after being accidently exposed to radiation from a magnetron tube he was working on at the time.
1895 A U.S. patent was issued for an electric stove.
1895 The first shipment of canned pineapple left Hawaii.
1895 Jell-O was created. In 1845, Peter Cooper, inventor and founder of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, obtained the first American patent for the manufacture of gelatin. In 1895, cough syrup manufacturer Pearl B. Wait purchased the patent and developed a packaged gelatin dessert. Wait's wife, May David Wait named it "Jell-O."
1895 Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizzeria in the U.S. in New York City.
1895 Cordon Bleu school of cooking was founded in Paris by Marthe Distell to teach cooking to upper class women.
1896 Fannie Farmer Cookbook is published.
1896 Leo Hirshfield introduced the Tootsie Roll at his small store in New York City. It was supposedly named after his 5 year old daughter, whose nickname was 'Tootsie.'
1896 According to some stories, the Chinese-American dish, chop suey, was created in New York City by Cantonese chef, Li Hung-Chang
1897 The largest sturgeon was caught, 1,387 pounds, in the Fraser River.
1897 Campbell's Soup invents condensed soup.
1897 The J.M. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 when the Company's namesake and founder sold his first product — apple butter — from the back of a horse-drawn wagon. He used an old family recipe and hand-signed every package as his personal guarantee of quality. (www.smuckers.com)
1898 Post Grape Nuts are introduced by C. W. Post of Battle Creek, Michigan. (There are no grapes of nuts in Grape Nuts).
1898 Daniel Gerber of baby food fame was born.
1898 Caleb D. Bradham, a New Bern, North Carolina pharmacist created Pepsi-Cola, in imitation of Coca-Cola. (He originally called it Brad’s Drink). see also 1903.
1898 The National Biscuit Company (later to become Nabisco) introduced Uneeda Biscuits and began making Graham Crackers.
1899 The first dishwashing machine was introduced by Josephine Garis Cochran. It became an award winning success at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, which used her hand operated, mechanical dishwashers in its kitchens. (She patented it on December 28, 1886.) Her company eventually evolved into KitchenAid.
1899 Carnation began producing evaporated milk.
1900AD-2000AD
1900 Chiclets chewing gum, with a hard sugar coating, was introduced
1900 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was created.
1900 Coca-Cola goes on sale for the first time in Britain.
1901 The Martha Washington Hotel opens in New York City. It is the first hotel exclusively for women.
1902 The pastel-colored candy disks called NECCO wafers first appeared, named for the New England Confectionery Company.
1902 Fannie Merrit Farmer opened Miss Farmer's School of Cookery in Boston, Massachusetts.
1903 First U.S. patent for instant coffee.
1903 Richard Hellmann, a New York deli owner created his recipe for bottled mayonnaise. He began to market it in 1912.
1903 Tsingtao, China's first brewery, was founded by German settlers. (Some sources say it was 1897).
1903 James Beard, culinary expert and cookbook author was born.
1904 The Ice Cream cone was invented. Charles E. Minches invents the ice cream cone for his customers convenience at the St. Louis World's Fair (The Louisiana Purchase Exhibition). This is only one account, there are several other candidates.
1904 The first subway (underground) rail system in New York City began operating. The Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) line was 21 miles long.
1904 The tea bag was invented by Thomas Sullivan of New York City. He first used them to send samples to his customers instead of sending it in more expensive tins.
1904 Post Toasties were introduced by General Foods (originally called ‘Elijah's Manna.’)
1905 G. Lombardi's an Italian restaurant on Spring Street in New York City, served America’s first pizza.
1905 Popsicles were invented by Frank Epperson in 1905, they were originally called Epsicles!
1906 Bel Paese cheese was created. Egidio Galbani created this popular Italian cow's milk cheese. Its name means 'beautiful country,' and supposedly comes from a book written by Father Antonio Stoppani, a friend of the family.
1906 The Hot Fudge Sundae was created at C.C. Browns, an ice cream parlor on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
1906 The term 'filet mignon' is first used by O. Henry in his book 'The Four Million'
1906 Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company (W.K. Kellogg Company) was founded. Founded by Will Keith Kellogg to manufacture breakfast cereals (cornflakes).
1906 The Pure Food & Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed by Congress.
1907 One of the ad campaigns for Kellogg's Corn Flakes (then the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company) offered a free box of cereal to every woman who would wink at her grocer.
1907 Rachel Louise Carson was born; author of 'Silent Spring.' An American biologist, the book was concerned with the dangers of environmental pollution, especially DDT
1907 Orville Redenbacher was born. Founder of gourmet popcorn company.
1907 Earl S. Tupper was born. The inventor of Tupperware. (Tupperware makes the containers used to conduct mold and bacterial experiments in the back of refrigerator shelves).
1908 M.F.K. Fisher (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher) was born. Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher was an American food critic and writer and the author of various articles, essays and books about food. She also translated Brillat-Savarin's 'The Physiology of Taste' in 1949.
1908 Tom Carvel was born. He was the inventor of the soft-serve ice cream machine, and founder of the ice cream chain, Carvel’s
1909 Nabisco debuts the Oreo cookie.
1909 Richard McDonald was born. He was one of the brothers who founded McDonald's fast food restaurants. Richard also designed the golden arches logo. He died in 1998.
1910 Roy J. Plunkett was born. He was the inventor of Teflon (Polytetrafluoroethylene) in 1938. The first non-stick cookware using Teflon was sold in 1960.
1910 Ward Baking Company of Chicago, Illinois opens the first completely automated bread plant in the U.S. Untouched by human hands.
1911 Proctor & Gamble introduces Crisco.
1912 The Girl Scouts are founded in Savannah, Georgia by Juliette "Daisy" Gordon.
1912 The Dixie Cup was developed by Lawrence Luellen and Hugh Moore.
1912 Julia Child is born. REJOICE!!!
1912 England opens its first cannery with the sole purpose of supplying food to the Royal Navy.
1913 Cracker Jack begins to add a prize to each box.
1913 The company Thomas Firth & Sons in Cheffield, England casts stainless steel for the first time.
1914 Martha, the last surviving Passenger Pigeon dies on September 1, 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo. The species was commercially hunted to extinction.
1914 James L. Kraft founds the J.L. Kraft Brothers cheese factory in Stockton, Illinois.
1915 W. Atlee Burpee, the founder of the world's largest seed company, Burpee dies.
1915 The waxed cardboard milk carton is invented by John Van Wormer.
1915 The population of the United States is 100 million and there are 6.5 million farms.
1915 France and several other countries outlaw Absinthe.
1916 The first Electric refrigerator is offered for sale at $900.
1916 Nathan's Hot Dog stand opens in Coney Island. Hot Dogs sold for five cents a piece.
1916 Coca Cola begins to offer Coke in a contoured bottle.
1916 The author of Chocolate and The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl is born.
1916 the supermarket Piggly-Wiggly opens for the first time..
1916 Mr. Peanut is created.
1917 Britain begins rationing sugar during WW I.
1918 Daylight Savings Time takes effect in America for the first time.
1919 Prohibition begins in America with the passing of the Volstead Act.
1919 The National Restaurant Association is founded.
1920 The first speakeasy, the 50-50 Club opens.
1920 The Eskimo Pie is patented by Christian K. Nelson.
1920s Caesar Cardini invents the Ceasar Salad in Tijuana.
1920 Fortune cookies are created for the first time in Los Angeles.
1920 The Good Humor Bar, chocolate coated ice cream on a stick is invented by Harry Burt.
1921 The Willis Campbell Act is passed by President Harding which prohibited doctors from prescribing liquor or beer.
1921 The Bloody Mary is invented by Harry MacElhone of Harry's Bar in Paris.
1921 Walter A. Anderson and E. W. Ingram found of the White Castle hamburger chain is founded in Wichita, Kansas.
1921 Wheaties cereal is created.
1921 The fictional spokeswoman for General Mills is invented by advertising executive Sam Gale.
1922 The BBC begins to broadcast for the first time.
1922 The Klondike Bar is invented by William Isaly.
1923 As a result of Prohibition, Delmonico's Restaurant closes.
1923 H.B. Reese, a Pennsylvania farmer invents Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
1923 The Butterfinger is invented.
1923 Charcoal briquettes are invented.
1923 The Milky Way is introduced by the Frank C. Mars Company of Minnesota.
1924 The birth of the frozen food industry takes place after Clarence Birdseye founds the General Seafood Corporation.
1926 The French chef Paul Bocuse is born. He is known as the father of Nouvelle Cuisine.
1926 The Minneapolis company McGraw Electric introduces the pop-up toaster.
1926 The first canned ham is invented by Hormel Company of Austin, Minnesota.
1927 The United Kingdom grants Clarence Birdseye of Massachusetts a patent for frozen fish fingers.
1927 The first hot meals are served aboard an airplane by Imperial Airways.
1927 Edwin E. Perkins of Hastings, Nebraska invented the powered soft drink Kool-Aid.
1927 Pez peppermint breath mints were introduced in Vienna.
1928 Kraft's Velveeta Cheese was invented. It was packaged using the 1921 invention of a tinfoil lining that could house the cheese inside a wooden box. Its special cooking properties quickly caught on. When melted, it was as smooth as velvet (hence its name), and it would never curdle when heated. It replaced canned cheese. James L. Kraft founded J.L Kraft Bros. cheese factory in Stockton, Illinois in 1914. He introduced the company's first cheese in tins a year later. In 1917, Kraft cheese in tins was accompanying WWI soldiers to foreign fronts.
1928 Sliced bread was born. Otto Frederick Rohwedder spent many years working on a bread slicing machine beginning in 1912. He finally perfected it, and the first sliced bread was produced and sold at M.F. Bench's Chillicothe Baking Company, 100 Elm Street in Chillicothe, Missouri. According to the story, Mr. Bench assisted Rohwedder in the fine tuning the new bread slicing machine. The Chillicothe, Missouri Constitution-Tribune of July 7, 1928 carried a story of the new machines first use on that day.
1928 Harry Ramsden opened what would become the most famous fish and chips restaurant in the world.
1929 Sheffeld Farms of New York began using wax paper cartons instead of glass bottles for milk delivery.
1929 'Black Thursday' - the first day of the panic driven stock market crash that precipitated the Great Depression.
1929 7-Up was originally called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda when it was invented in 1929.
1929 The Ruby Red grapefruit was a chance mutation discovered at a farm in McAllen, Texas.
1930 Candy maker Frank C. Mars of Minnesota introduced the Snickers bar in 1930
1930 Retail frozen foods go on sale for the first time in Springfield, Massachusetts. Various fruits, vegetables, meat and fish were offered for sale. Clarence Birdseye had developed the method used to successfully freeze foods on a commercial scale.
1930 Mahatma Gandhi began his march to the coastal village of Dandi, to protest the British salt monopoly.
1930 'Twinkies' go on sale for the first time.
1930 The ‘Dagwood’ sandwich was created by Dagwood Bumstead or the comic strip Blondie by Murat Bernard ‘Chic’ young. The ‘Dagwood’ is a sandwich made with many layers of bread, meats, cheese, lettuce, tomato, condiments, etc.
1930 The Rotolactor was developed by the Walker-Gordon Dairy. It was a 50 stall revolving milking platform that could mechanically milk over 1,500 cows in seven hours.
1931 Alka Seltzer was introduced.
1931 Empire State Building opens. It was built on the site of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
1931 Canned rattlesnake goes on sale. Packed by George K. End of Arcadia, Florida. Not quite as big a hit as Spam.
1931 The first commercial doors operated by a photoelectric cell were installed on the swinging doors between the kitchen and dining room of Wilcox's Pier Restaurant in West Haven, Connecticut.
1931 Harry MacElhone of Harry's Bar in Paris created the Sidecar cocktail.
1931 General Mills introduced Bisquick
1932 Vitamin C is first isolated by C.G. King at the University of Pittsburgh.
1932 Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's was born.
1932 The Mars Bar, candy bar, was introduced.
1933 The House of Commons defeated a bill that would have prohibited the sale of alcohol in the U.K.
1933 Prohibition (the 18th amendment) is repealed.
1933 The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey.
1933 The first Great Lakes to New Orleans barge trip is completed when a barge loaded with grain enters the port of New Orleans from the Mississippi.
1933 The Kit Kat is invented.
1933 Peanut butter is homogenized for the first time by a California peanut employee thus creating Skippy Churned peanut Butter.
1933 National Dairy Products introduces Kraft Miracle Whip Salad Dressing.
1934 In two days, the Great Plains loses significant amounts of top soil during one of the worst dust storms ever to hit the area. The Dust Bowl begins.
1935 The Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company in Richmond, Virginia introduces the first beer can.
1935 Georges-Auguste Escoffier dies.
1936 The Felinfoel Brewery in Wales sells canned beer to the public for the first time.
1936 Edward Ravenscroft of Glencoe, Illinois is granted a patent for the first bottle screw cap.
1936 The first shopping cart is created by Sylvan Goldman & Fred Young.
1936 At his Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood, California, Robert Cobb creates the first Cobb Salad.
1936 The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is invented.
1937 The BBC introduces the television program Cooks' Night Out, making Marcel Boulestin the first television chef.
1937 Krispy Kreme sells its first doughnut in Salem, North Carolina.
1937 George A. Hormel & Company sells Spam for the first time.
1937 Macaroni & Cheese was introduced by Kraft.
1938 The world's largest floating restaurant set sail aboard the "Queen Elizabeth" the largest passenger ship of its time set off on its maiden voyage from Scotland.
1938 The primitive fish, coelacanth, thought to have been extinct for eighty million years, was caught near a South African coast. A second coelacanth population has also been discovered near Indonesia.
1938 The first alcohol breathalizer, The Harger Drunkometer, is introduced in Indiana.
1938 Teflon is discovered by accident by Roy J. Plunkett of Ohio.
1938 The Nestle's Crunch candy bar is created.
1938 'Larousse Gastronomique' by Prosper Montagne is published.
1939 The seedless watermelon is invented.
1939 A bill to make it illegal to use tomatoes in clam chowder is introduced in Maine by assembleyman Seeder.
1939 Queen Elizabeth and King George VI are served hot dogs by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a White House visit.
1939 The first Wheaties TV commercial aires at a Brooklyn Dodgers game.
1940 Lousiana restauranteur and chef Paul Prudhomme is born.
1940 The first Dairy Queen opens in Joliet, Illinois.
1940 M&M's candy is created.
1941 "Cherioats" are introduced by General Mills. The name is later changed to "Cheerios".
1941 Martha Stewart is born.
1941 Garbage disposals are invented.
1942 Neil Fletcher invents the first corn dog at the Texas State Fair.
1942 Coffee rationing begins in the United States.
1943 in an effort to conserve metal parts for the war, pre-sliced bread is banned in the United States.
1943 Ten portable bottling plants are requested of Coco-Cola by General Eisenhower for US troops stationed abroad.
1944 Owner and Executive chef of Chez Panisse in California, Alice Waters is born.
1944 Meat rationing, due to the war, ends in the United States.
1944 The song Chiquita Banana is created for the United Fruit Company.
1945 The United Nation creates World Food Day.
1945 All food rationing ends in the United States.
1945 A patent is granted for the microwave oven.
1946 CARE's first packages for the survivors of WWII arrive in Le Havre France.
1946 The Culinary Institute of America was founded in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1972 it relocated to Hyde Park, New York.
1947 Rationing of sugar ends in the U.S.
1947 Reynolds Wrap, from Reynolds meal goes on sale, making it the first tin foil to ever hit the market.
1948 Prosper Montagne, the editor of Larousse Gastronomique dies.
1948 The rationing of bread ends in Britain.
1949 The rationing of chocolate ends in Britain.
1949 Wolfgang Puck is born.
1950 The host of the original Iron Chef, Takeshi Kaga is born.
1950 Frank McNamara invents the first credit card, Dienrs Club, after he found himself without his wallet at a restaurant dinner.
1950 407 breweries are operating in the United States.
1950 As a way to promote flour, Pillsbury holds its first "Bake Off".
1950 The first Dunkin' Donuts, originally called The open Kettle, opens in Quincy, Massachussetts.
1950 Kraft introduces Deluxe Process Cheese the first commercially processed cheese slices.
1950 Prepared cake mixes are introduced by Pillsbury and General Mills.
1950 Sugar pops are introduced
1951 Sand Diego sees the opening of the first Jack-in-the-Box.
1951 Chicken, turkey and chicken pot pies are introduced by Swanson.
1951 Heloise, the household hints columnist, is born in Waco, Texas.
1951 The International Cheese treaty was signed at the International Convention on the Use of Designations of Origin and Names for Cheeses.
1951 The founder of the W.K. Kellogg Company, Will Keith Kellogg dies.
1952 The first toy ever advertised on television, Mr. Potato Head, is introduced for the first time.
1952 Dupont registers Mylar for a trademark.
1952 The first no calorie, sugar free soft drinks are introduced.
1952 Lipton's introduces its dry Onion Soup Mix.
1952 Kellogg's introduces Sugar Frosted Flakes which contain 29 percent sugar.
1952 The first frozen peas are introduced by the Clarence Birdseye Company.
1952 Frozen fish sticks are introduced by Mrs. Paul's.
1952 Howard Johnson's becomes the world’s largest food chain when it opens its 351st restaurant.
1953 At 1,182 pounds, a swordfish caught in Chili becomes the largest swordfish ever caught.
1953 Great Britain ends sugar rationing.
1953 Saran Wrap is invented by the Dow Chemical Company.
1953 Kraft Cheez Whiz is introduced to the public.
1953 The first instant iced tea is introduced. It was called White-Rose Ready Tea.
1953 Joe Sheridan supposedly invents the first Irish Coffee at the Shannon Airport.
1953 Containing 56% sugar, Kellogg's introduces Sugar Smacks to the public.
1954 TV dinners are introduced.
1954 Almost nine years after WWII, rationing ends in Britain.
1954 Cracker Barrel brand natural cheese in introduced by Kraft.
1954 The Swift company introduces Butterball, the first self-basting turkey.
1954 M&M's introduces peanut M&M's along with the "melts in your mouth not in your hand" slogan.
1954 One of the earliest health books, "Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit" by Adele Davis is published.
1954 Containing 46% sugar, General Mills introduces Trix cereal.
1954 Schlitz beer introduces the 16oz can.
1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton found Burger King.
1955 The first franchised McDonald's was opened in Des Plaines, Illinois by Ray Kroc. He bought the hamburger restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers and on opening day a 2 patty hamburger was 15 cents and French Fries were 10 cents.
1955 Iron Chef Morimoto Masaharu was born in Hiroshima, Japan.
1955 The Tappan Stove Company sells the first microwave ovens for home use to the public for $1300 each.
1955 the Quaker Oats Company introduces instant oatmeal.
1955 Special K cereal is introduced by Kellogg. It contains 4.5% sugar.
1956 In Britain, 8% of households have a refrigerator. In America 80% of households do.
1956 Busch Beer in introduced by Budweiser.
1956 A clam weighing in at 750 pounds is found in Okinawa, Japan. It was the largest ever recorded.
1957 Butter sales are exceeded by those of margarine for the first time in US history.
1957 Tang is introduced by General Foods Corps.
1958 The first dry cat food ins introduced by Friskies.
1958 Rice-A-Roni goes on sale. Produced by Vince DeDomenico from an Armenian family recipe.
1958 General Mills introduces the cereal Cocoa Puffs. It contains 43% sugar. Kellogg's introduces Cocoa Krispies and it contains 45.9% sugar.
1958 Nationwide there are 4,063 drive in movie screens.
1958 The Jolly Green giant first appears on television. He initially looked like a monster and scared children and a ho-ho-ho along with a catchy tune was added.
1958 Sweet n' Low was introduced to the public as an artificial sweetener. It contains granulated saccharin, dextrose, cream of tartar and calcium silicate and received U.S. trademark patent no. 1,000,000.
1958 Eighteen year old Frank Carney of Witchita Kansas hears abotu the pizza fad among college students. He opens the first Pizza Hut with $600 borrowed from his mom.
1958 McDonald's sold its 100 millionth hamburger.
1958 Creamy Jif peanut butter was introduced.
1958 "Diet Rite" is introduced by Royal Crown. It's the first diet soft drink.
1959 Danny's Coffee Shops are renamed Denny’s.
1959 Maxwell House begins its 'Good to the last drop' ad campaign.
1959 Oklahoma repeals its 51 year old Prohibition law leaving Mississippi the only 'dry' state in America.
1959 The one billionth can of Spam was sold.
1959 The 100th McDonald's restaurant opens in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.
1959 The Food Stamp Program legislation is passed by Congress.
1959 Television personality and chef Emeril Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts.
1961 Frozen plastic packages of food that can be dropped in boiling water to heat them are introduced for the first time.
1961 Teflon coated frying pans are introduced to the public.
1961 A technique to tenderize beef by injecting papain, an enzyme extracted from the papaya, directly into the blood stream of living animals is patented.
1961 Harry's Bar in Venice invents carpaccio in 1961.
1961 Life cereal is introduced by Quaker Oats Company.
1961 Mastering The Art of French Cookery by Julia Childs is published.
1961 The pull tab for beverage cans is introduced.
1962 Australia develops powdered butter.
1962 The second revolving restaurant in the United States, The Top Of The Needle restaurant in the Seattle, Washington opened.
1962 Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is published.
1962 In Pennsylvania, an underground garbage dump begins to burn. The fire spreads to nearby coal mining tunnels and at last check, in was still burning in 1984.
1963 Fruit Loops breakfast cereal is introduced.
1963 Fruits and vegetables are sterilized for the first time using irradiation in order to control insect infestatin and inhibit growth.
1963 Ray Kroc on the Art Show sells the one billionth McDonald's hamburder.
1963 Julia Child's television show 'The French Chef' begins to air.
1963 Ronald McDonald appears on television for the first time. He is played by Willard Scott.
1963 In a speech to the citizens of Berlin, President John F. Kennedy said 'Ich bin ein Berliner' (I am a jelly donut) instead of what he meant to say 'Ich bin Berliner' (I am a citizen of Berlin).
1964 As a snack for her son and his friends, Teressa Bellisimo at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY invents Buffalo Wings.
1965 General Foods introduces Cool Whip and within three months, it's the most popular whipped topping prodult sold.
1965 Spaghetti-O's are introduced by Campbell Soup Company.
1965 In a comemrcial for crescent rolls, 'Poppin' Fresh', the Pillsbury dough boy is introduced.
1966 Frozen french fries are first used by McDonald's.
1966: As a result of the first Truth in Packaging Law, ingredients must be listed on food packages.
1966: American Roman Catholics are no longer required to abstain from eating meat on Fridays.
1967 The University of Florida creates Gatorade for their football team.
1967 Plastic milk bottles are introduced.
1967 The U.S. has an estimated 3.2 million family farms.
1968 McDonald's begins sellign the Big Mac for the first time. They cost 49 cents a piece.
1968 'Goober', the jelly and peanut butter striped product, is introduced by Smuckers.
1969 Pringles potato chips, made from dehydrated mashed potatoes, are introduced.
1969 The first colored television commercial was aired in England. The product was Birdseye Peas.
1969 The United States bans DDT for residential use as a part of its efforts to completely phase it out.
1970 Hamburger Helper was introduced.
1970 Commercial whale hunting in the United States ends.
1970 Cesar Chaves is sent to a California prison for refusing to cancel a United Farm Workers lettuse boycott.
1971 McDonald's introduces the Quarter Pounder. It sells for 53 cents.
1971 Chez Panisse is opened by Alice Waters in Berkeley, California.
1971 The first Starbucks opened in Seattle.
1971 The plastic bottle is introduced by Coca Cola.
1972 The Culinary Institute of America moved to Hyde Park, N.Y. from New Haven, Connecticut.
1973 Carl Sontheimer, an American, refines the French Robo-Coupa and invents the Cuisanart.
1973 The book by James Beard 'Beard on Bread' is published.
1973 The margarine brand 'Promise' is introduced.
1973 General Mills introduces 'Stove Top' dressing.
1973 Nissin Foods introduces 'Cup o' Noodles' in the United States.
1973 Vodka sales beat out whiskey sales in the United States for the first time.
1974 The stay-on tab for beverage cans was invented.
1974 General Foods introduces Pop Rocks.
1974 Jif introduces Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter.
1974 The first checkout scanner was installed in a supermarket.
1974 The first product to include a bar code on its packaging, Wrigley's Gum, was officially logged into the Universal Product Code system (UPC).
1974 London's first McDonald's opens.
1974 Salmon returns to the Thames River in England after more than 125 years of being absent from it.
1975 Jamie Oliver, the British celebrity chef, was born.
1976 The U.S. Department of Labor upgraded the definition of 'Chef' from 'domestic' to 'professional.'
1976 The FDA banned Red Dye Number Two because of concern that it might cause cancer. Due to the ban, red M & M's were not produced for the next 11 years.
1976 In a blinad tasting by French experts in Paris, two California wines won top honors, disrupting and changing the wine world forever.
1977 A 44 lb 6 oz lobster was caught near Nova Scotia, the largest ever caught.
1977 The largest albacore tuna ever caught off the Canaray Islands weighed 88 pounds.
1978 In a former Vermont gas statin, Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Crepes opens.
1978 A 55 foot long, two ton squid was caught in Thimble Tickle Bay, Newfoundland, the largest ever caught.
1979 Paul Prudhomme opened K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans.