March 31

Today’s Food History

on this day in…

1814 John Lineback patented the cottonseed hulling machine.

1848 William Waldorf Astor was born.  William Waldorf Astor was a cousin of John Jacob Astor IV, the great grandson of John Jacob Astor.  He built the Waldorf section (1893) of what would become the Waldorf Astoria (1897).  The Empire State Building (1929) now stands on the site of the former hotel.

1918 Daylight Savings Time went into effect in the U.S. for the first time.

1989 Chefs from Japanese restaurants in New York have finally persuaded the FDA to allow them to import and serve fogu.  The first shipment of Japanese blowfish (tora fugu) arrived today.  The chefs had to attend special classes to protect their customers from poisoning.

1946 G. Allan Nichol of the music group ‘The Turtles’ was born.

2005 Frank Perdue president of Perdue Farms died today.  He was the son of the company’s founder Arthur Perdue.  Perdue is the 3rd largest poultry company in the U.S.