FOOD HISTORY TIMELINE
1720 to 1739 - Next
1720 Invention of meringue is attributed to a Swiss pastry chef named Gasparini.
1720 Mrs. Clements invented a method of preparing mustard flour or powder, which was known for a long time as Durham Mustard. Until then, mustard was made into balls with honey and or vinegar, and then mixed with more vinegar when needed.
1721 Rudolph Jacob Camerarius died. A German botanist, he showed the existence of sexes in plants, and identified the stamen and pistil as the male and female organs.
1725 Robert Bakewell was born on May 23 (died, October 1, 1795). Bakewell was an agriculturalist who helped revolutionize cattle and sheep breeding in England. He obtained the best animals he could find and then worked with a closed herd, inbreeding only superior animals.
1727 Sir Isaac Newton died. The story is that an apple falling on his head inspired his theory of universal gravitation. The apple is thought to have been the green skinned 'Flower of Kent' variety.
1727 Michel Adanson was born. Adson was a French botanist who developed a system of plant classification based on physical characteristics. His system was opposed by Carolus Linnaeus, and was not widely used.
1728 Johann Heinrich Lambert was born. He proved that Apple pie was irrational. Oops - never mind - that was 'pi' that he proved was an irrational number.
1728 Captain James Cook was born. British explorer who charted and named many Pacific Islands, including the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).
1730 Josiah Wedgwood was born. English inventor, artist and world renowned pottery designer and manufacturer. His daughter, Susannah, was the mother of Charles Darwin.
1732 First issue of ‘Poor Richard's Almanac’ was published.
1733 Molasses Act - England passes the Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum and molasses imported to the colonies from anyplace other than Britain and its possessions.
1733 Richard Kirwan was born. Kirwan was an eccentric Irish chemist who hated flies. He had dysphagia, which is the inability to swallow food without convulsive movements. He always dined alone.
1734 Daniel Boone was born. American pioneer & frontiersman.
1735 Paul Revere was born. A silversmith and American Revolutionary folk hero, he also made surgical instruments and false teeth.
1735 Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus gave the pomegranate it botanical name, Punica granatum.
1736 Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers was born on February 29. To commemorate her birthday, each year on March 1 the Shakers held an afternoon meeting, followed by a supper at which this cake was served. The original recipe advises, “Cut a handful of peach twigs which are filled with sap at this season of the year. Clip the ends and bruise them and beat the cake batter with them. This will impart a delicate peach flavor to the cake.”
American Heritage Cookbook (1964)
1736 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit died. He developed the Fahrenheit temperature scale, and invented the mercury thermometer.
1739 Caspar Wistar founded the first successful large scale glass factory in the U.S. in Allowaystown, New Jersey.