The History of the Sandwich
1762 - It is also said that the cooks at London’s Beef Steak Club, a gentlemen's gaming club held at the Shakespeare Tavern, invented the first sandwich.
The sublime society of Beef-steaks' was very exclusive, limited to 24 members. The Prince of Wales became its 25th member. They dined off beef-steaks accompanied by generous amounts of port and arrack-punch. The members met at 5 o'clock on Saturday's from November until the end of June. Each member could also invite a friend.
John Montague (1718-1792), the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, He became First Lord of the Admiralty and was patron to Capt. James Cook (who explored New Zealand, Australia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Polynesia.). Capt. Cook named the Hawaiian Islands after him, calling them the Sandwich Island. Montague Island, a large island at the entrance to Prince William Sound on the Gulf of Alaska, was also named by the famed Captain Cook.
Montague was a hardened gambler and usually gambled for hours at a time at this restaurant, sometimes refusing to get up even for meals. It is said that ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montague also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" The original sandwich was, in fact, a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread.
1765 - John Montague's biographer, N. A. M. Rodger, points out in the book, The Insatiable Earl - A Life of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, that the sole source for giving Montague credit for the invention of the sandwich, was gossip mentioned in a travel book by Grosley, and that at the period in question 1765, he was known to be very busy, and it is just as likely that it was for the purpose of eating at his desk. The book states:
It remains to consider the circumstances of the invention of the sandwich, which modern works suppose to have been designed to sustain its creator through long nights at the gaming table. The origin of this story seems to be a passage in Grosley's Tour to London:
"A minister of state passed four and twenty hours at a public gaming-table, so absorpt in play that, during the whole time, he had no subsistence but a bit of beef, between two slices of toasted bread, which he eat without ever quitting the game. This new dish grew highly in vogue, during my residence in London: it was called by the name of the minister who invented it."
Grosley's book is a piece of travel literature. There is no supporting evidence for this piece of gossip, and it does not seem very likely that it has any foundation, especially as it refers to 1765, when Sandwich was a Cabinet minister and very busy. There is no doubt, however, that he was the real author of the sandwich, in its original form using salt beef, of which he was very fond. The alternative explanation is that he invented it to sustain himself at his desk, which seems plausible since we have ample evidence of the long hours he worked from an early start, in an age when dinner was the only substantial meal of the day, and the fashionable hour to dine was four o'clock.
1840 - The sandwich was introduced to America by Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie (1787-1858). In her cookbook, Directions for Cookery, she has a recipe for ham sandwiches that she suggested as a main dish.
Ham Sandwiches - Cut some thin slices of bread very neatly, having slightly buttered them; and, if your choose, spread on a very little mustard. Have ready some very thin slices of cold boiled ham, and lay one between two slices of bread. You may either roll them up, or lay them flat on the plates. They are used at supper or at luncheon.
1900’s - The sandwich became very popular in the American diet when bakeries started selling pre-sliced bread, thus making sandwiches very easy to create. Sandwiches became an easy, portable meal for workers and school children alike.
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