Today’s Food History

1753 Jean Jacques Regis de Cambaceres was born. A French politician and gourmet. A gastronomic contemporary and rival of Talleyrand and Carême. The dinners he gave were famous, and Cambaceres closely supervised the food preparation. He refused to admit late-comers, and was also said to have demanded complete silence while dining.

1871 Charles Babbage died. He invented the adding machine, and among his other inventions is the cowcatcher, the V shaped front end on locomotives.

1878 Thomas Edison made electricity available for household usage.

1892 The first long distance telephone line between Chicago and New York City was put in service.

1919 William Waldorf Astor 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.

1931 Thomas Alva Edison, “the wizard of Menlo Park” died.

1945 James T. Ehler, Chef and food writer, was born. That’s me – the author of this Culinary Calendar and the Food Reference Website.

1969 Cyclamate, a non-caloric sweetener, was banned. Discovered in 1937, and widely used in the food industry, cyclamate was found to cause cancer in laboratory rats. Cyclamate is still used in many countries around the world.