Food Timeline>social history, manners & menus
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USA culinary traditions & historic surveys
Meals, meal times & holiday fare
Restaurants, chefs & food service
Social customs & dining etiquette
---Food and Eating: An Anthropological Perspective, Robin Fox, Social Issues Research Centre
---Resources for the Anthropological Study of Food Habits (bibliography), Illinois State University
---History of Eating Utensils, from the Anthropology Dept. at the California Academy of Scientists
--- History of the Art of Table Setting, Claudia Quigley Murphy, c. 1921
---Table service (French, Russian, English, American
---Table Manners Became Polite, Christian Science Monitor
World surveys
---International cuisines, history and popular foods
---History of Vegetarianism, International Vegetarian Union

---Perhistory---How did humans know which foods were safe to eat?
---Prehistory---Why did humans begin cooking their food?
---Prehistory---Prehistoric Puzzle: Diet and Substinence [in Africa]
---10,000BC---Agriculture begins I & II
---5th millenium BC, Egypt---culture & cuisine
---2,500BC, South America---Lost Crops of the Incas
---2300BC, Mesopotamia---Sumerian diet & first written recipes
---700BC, Phrygia---Funerary feast of King Midas, University of Pennsylvania
---450-350BC, Greece---Public (and Private) Eating in Greece & original Olympic fare
---1st century AD,Roman Empire---meals, dining, fast food & soldier mess
---4th Century BC, Etruscans---Etruscan origins of Tuscan Cuisine
---100-500AD, Egypt---Feeding Karanis
---400-1000, Britain--- Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon & Norman foodways
---700-1100, Europe---Viking foods: I, II & III
---900-1400, Europe---Medieval foods
---1000-1350, New Zealand---Maori foodways
---13th century Italy---Marco Polo & the Merchants of Venice
---13th century, Colorado--- Pueblo Peoples subsistence
---1253, Mongolia---Mongolian food, William of Rubruk. Compare with today's nomad cuisine.
---1453, Turkey---Ottoman cuisine
---Renaissance Italy---Romeo & Juliet's food
---Renaissance Italy--- The Last Supper, as depicted by Leonardo Da Vinci
---Elizabethan England---Shakespeare's food
---1577, England---Of the Food and Diet of the English, Holinshed's Chronicles
---1588, Virginia---Thomas Hariot's A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, published in London
---1610, Virginia---What did the colonists eat?
---1621, Plimoth---Pilgrim Thanksgiving
---1633, London---Herball or General Historie of Plantes, John Gerard: compare with King's American Dispensatory [1898] & A Modern Herbal, M. Grieve [1931]
---1651, France---Modern French cuisine
---1660, London---Dining with Samuel Pepys, Essays on History of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Dietetic Association
---1690, South Carolina---Rise of the Georgetown Rice Culture
---1690, Salem MA---Puritan cooking
---1699, England---British military rations
---18th century, England---Cultural rules of dining, Types of foods & Dinner of the upper classes
---18th century, America---Colonial American fare & commerical bakeries
---18th century, New York City---Fraunces Tavern
---18th century, American south--- Slave subsistence
---1744, Virginia---George Washington's Rules of Civility
---1756, Princeton College---Dining at Nassau Hall
---1766, Paris---Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau opens the first restaurant...more info
---1772, UK Navy---Captain James Cook's rations & menus
---1772, Philadelphia---City Tavern, frequented by the signers of our Declaration of Independence
---1773, Boston---Boston Tea Party I & II
---1775-1781, U.S.---Supplying Washington's Army
---1776, Royal Navy---Rations overview, Nelson and His Navy-Diet and Victualling, ship's biscuit & cheese
---1777, Pennsylvania---George Washington's Camp Chest (mess kit)
---1777, Pennsylvania---Valley Forge Commissariat
---1780s, Virginia---George Washington's Mount Vernon kitchens
---1782, Paris---restaurants & caterers
---1787, Virginia---Thomas Jefferson's pasta machine
---1789, France---French Revolution fare
---1794, U.S. Navy---First "official" rations
---19th century, United States---Early American & pioneer foodways
---19th century, Maine---Lobstering then and now
---19th century, Montana---Homestead History: Food on the Frontier
---19th century, England---Menus & cookbooks
---19th century, Russia---Samovars & tea
---1801, France---Napoleon's eating habits
---1803, United States---Monthly bills of Fare, Susannah Carter's Frugal Housewife
---1812, Canada---Messing arrangements of the British Army during the War of 1812 & food
---1814, Canada---The Pemmican War
---1815, Virginia---Breakfast & Dinner at Jefferson's Monticello
---1820, New Jersey--- Col. Johnson eats a tomato at the Salem Cty Courthouse...or did he?
---1820s, Rochester NY--- Public dining options on the Erie Canal
---1820s, Paris---Careme redefines the chef profession
---1826, Paris---Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's Physiogie du Gout, full text here
---1826, Boston---Union Oyster House
---1830s, Massachusetts---Taverns, dining out, Asa Knight store & milk consumption, Old Sturbridge Village
---1832, U.S. Army---Coffee replaced rum in soldier rations
---1834, NYC--- Delmonico's menu
---1837, South Hadley, MA--Deacon Porter's Hat and other food traditions from Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary
---1838, NYC---Delmonico's Bill of Fare
---1840, USA--- Census of Agriculture
---1840s, England---Afternoon tea, custom attributed to Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford
---1840s, West U.S.--- Provisions for the Oregon Trail
---1842, NYC---Dickens menu, City Hotel
---1847, California---Chinese food in America
---1847, Washington D.C.---Brown's Hotel bill of fare I & II
---1848, Boston---Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters and Housekeeper's Guide, Tunis Canpbell
---1849, California---Gold rush fare
---1851, Nantucket, MA---Chowder, from Herman Melville's Moby Dick (Chapter 15)
---1855, Nebraska---What did Nebraska's school children eat for lunch? & frontier watermelons
---1856, San Francisco---Complimentary Dinner, Howard Engine Company No. 3
---1857, Kentucky---Louisville Hotel
---1857, Canada---The Emigrant Housekeeper's Guide to the Backwood of Canada
---1859, Walden Pond, Massachusetts---Wild Fruits, Henry David Thoreau
---1860, American West---Pony Express foods
---1860, Boston---Bill of Fare, Mrs. S. L. Skilton's Eating House
---1860s, London---Bills of Fare, Mrs. Beeton's Household management
---1860s, Wyoming---Charles Baker's provisions for the long trip out west
---1861-1865, Civil War---Civilian recipes, soldier rations & slave foods
---1861, London---Picnics
---1862, Cariboo Gold Rush, British Columbia---General store
---1862-1894, New York City--- Delmonico's menus (no prices)
---1865, Washington D.C.---Lincoln's second Inauguration Ball Bill of Fare
---1866, Washington D.C.---Ebbitt House Dinner menu, wine list & dining hours
---1866, Texas---Charles Goodnight's cowboy chuck wagons
---1866, Boston---Bill of Fare, Wells L. Egerton & Co. Ladies and gents dining rooms
---1867, New York City---Market Assistant, Containing a Brief Description of Every Article of Human Food Sold in the Public Markets in the Cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn
---1868, NYC---Dickens menu, Delmonicos
---1869, Boston---Knox & Co. Horticultural Dining Rooms, dinner menu
---1872, Providence, RI---diners
---1873---Grande Dictionnaire de Cuisine, Alexander Dumas (in French)
---1876, New York---Menu for a 16 course meal, and other dinners, Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving, Mary Henderson
---1876, Philadelphia--- Cafe Leland, Centennial Exhibition
---1876, Southwest U.S.---Fred Harvey Houses
---1877, Minneapolis---Entertaining etiquette & Bills of Fare, Buckeye Cookery
---1877, San Francisco---Russ House menu
---1880s, France---Claude Monet's cooking journals
---1880s, USA---Paper cups introduced for health reasons
---1885, California---Dinner menu, Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California
---1888, USA---Vending machines come to America
---1889, Paris---Exposition Universelle
---1890s, London---Victorian Kitchen and Table Tools
---1892, Texas---Thanksgiving menu, Brackenridge Hall, University of Austin
---1892, Michigan---A Year's Breakfasts & Dinners, Ella Eaton Kellogg
---1893, Chicago---Columbian Exposition introduces cafeterias
---1895, United Kingdom---Brunch
---1896, American dining customs and table manners, Youth's Educator for Home and Society
---1896, New York---Bills of Fare, Charles Ranhofer's Epicurean
---1896, U.S.---Fannie Farmer's Suitable combinations for serving, Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
---1900s, New York City---Ellis Island canteens
---1900, New York City---Menus from Louis Sherry, The Plaza Hotel, The Waldorf, Haan's, Child's Lunchrooms, and The Cooper Lunch Counter
---1900, Paris---Expostition Universelle Internationale
---1900, Russia---History of court dining, Alexandra's Names Day & Tatiana's birthday, Imperial luncheon at the Alexander Palace
---1901-2, Buffalo NY---Food & drink at the Pan-American Exhibition, Pabst Restaurant menu
---1902, Philadelphia PA---Horn & Hardart's first automat
---1902, USA---bake sales
---1903, New York City---Dinner at the Fifth Ave. Hotel I & II
---1904, St. Louis Exposition---Meals & menus
---1906, Japan---The Book of Tea, Kakuzo Okakura
---1906, Alaska---Menus from the Cecil Cafe (Fairbanks) & Royal Cafe (Cleary Creek)
---1906, Wilmington Delaware---Longwood Garden Parties hosted by Pierre S. duPont
---1909, USA---Advertisement for Deviled meats from the Wm. Underwood Company
---1909, London---Food prices/Mrs. Beeton's charts
---1911, New York---The Grocer's Encyclopedia, Artemis Ward
---1913, San Francisco CA---Dinner at Hotel St. Francis...compare with 1915 menu
---1914-1918, WWI--- Recipe for Victory: Food and Cooking in Wartime, University of Wisconsin
---1914-1918, WWI---British & German soldier rations & memoirs
---1916, USA---Baking bread in the WWI Army
---1918, USA---Wheatless Wednesdays
---WWI, North Carolina---What we are doing to conserve food and keep down waste, Food production and conservation in North Carolina & Quest for food substitutes
---1929, USA--- Breakfasts, Luncheons and Dinners: How to Plan Them..., Mary D. Chambers
---1920s, USA---Picnic Time, Lydia Pinkham Co.
---1921, USA---Fine dining on the Union Pacific Railroad & photos from the 30's-60's
---1921, Dallas TX---The Pig Stand, America's first drive-in restaurant
---1922, Sacramento, CA---Oriental Grill Menu
---1925, New York---The Story of a Pantry Shelf, Butterick Publishing Co., popular American brands and their histories.
---1926, New York---Steak houses in New York City
---1928, Massachusetts---Howard Johnson's 28 ice cream flavors
---1930s USA---Depression-era foods: soup kitchens, WPA projects, family dining
---1930s, USA---Evolution of the Ice Cream Stand, National Park Service
---1931, St. Louis---Irma S. Rombauer's Joy of Cooking, Joy of Cooking
---1934, New Haven CT---Yale Bowl tailgate parties
---1934, NYC---Rainbow Room, supper menu
---1935, New Jersey---Bahrs Landing Restaurant, Sandy Hook
---1936, New Jersey--- Dining on the Hindenburg
---1936, California---United Airlines launches inflight catering
---1937, Idaho---CCC Heyburn State Park Friday menu with unit quantities & costs
---1939, New York City---World's Fair Dining options
---1939, UK---Meals on Wheels, a tradition of serving our seniors
---1940a, USA---Rationing, soldier foods, civilian fare
---WWII, Australia---Families and Food: Wartime Tucker
---1940s, San Diego---Theater concession stands: Fox & State Theatres
---1941, Las Vegas---Hotel El Rancho Vegas
---1942, USA---Food rationing, NJ rationing book & ---1942, Puyallup, WA---What people ate at Camp Harmony, Japanese Relocation Center
---1942-1945, USA---USA canteen offerings
---1944, USA---Army kitchen trucks & Thanksgiving menu
---1945, United Nations---Food and Agriculture Organization is founded
---1946, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba---Ship's Service Restaurant menu, Naval Station
---1946, USA---Dinner on the Western Pacific Railroad
---1946, Las Vegas---All-you-can-eat buffet
---1947, USA---Microwave ovens (aka radar ranges)
---1947, USA---C.A.R.E. Packages
---1947, USA---Worthington Foods, manufactured soy products for American consumption
---1948, Germany---The Berlin Airlift & Operation Little Vittles
---1948, India---Key to Health, Mahatma K. Gandhi
---1950s, USA---Popular foods & family menus
---1950, USA---Diner's Club begins the credit card industry
---1950, USA---Salad bars
---1950s, USA---Tex-Mex goes mainstream America & seniors enjoy Early bird specials
---1951, U.S. Army---Field messing in forward areas
---1953, United Nations---U.N. soldier food service
---1953, USA--- Civil Defense survival rations (includes pictures)
---1956, Alcatraz---Dining room rules, inmate regulation #33
---1960s, U.S.---Popular American foods & pictures of our favorite food packages I, II & III
---1960s, USA--Surf & turf
---1960s, Anaheim---Tahitian Terrace Menu, Disneyland
---1960, British Columbia---Christmas menu, 918th Squadron, Baldy Hughes Air Station
---1961, Honolulu---World's first revolving restaurant
---1961, Massachusetts---Julia Child's Kitchen (now displayed at the Smithsonian)
---1963, U.S. Army---Operational Rations Current and Future
---1963, Los Angeles CA---Doggie bags
---1963, Portland OR---Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor menu
---1964, NYC World's Fair---Restaurants & recipes
---1964, New York City---Japanese steak houses are introduced to America by Rocky Aoiki
---1964, USA---"Soul food"
---1967, USA---Super Bowl parties
---1969, Moon---Apollo 11 food & menus
---1970s, USA---Food of the Seventies, popular snack items
---1971, Chicago IL---Official Dinner Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Chicago Fire
---USA---American Bicentennial Celebration menus
---1976, New York City---Windows on the World
---1976, Washington D.C.---State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip
---1979, USA---Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest)
---1980s, USA---Popular dishes, menus & products
---1980s, USA---Personal chefs & amuse bouche
---1986, Italy---Slow Food Movement, dedicated to preserving foods from extinction
---1987, USA---Chefs tables
---1990s, USA---Popular dishes, menus and products
---1996, USA---What do Americans Eat?, U.S. Agriculture Fact Book 1998
---2000s, USA---Popular foods & consuming trends
---2000, USA---America's Dining Out Habits, Restaurants USA
---2000, USA---Profiling Food Consumption in America, U.S. Agriculture Fact Book 2000-1
---2003, USA---DOD Combat Feeding Program, Group food & Submarine food
---2007, USA---What's Hot & What's Not, Chef Survey, National Restaurant Association
---2008, USA---Economy's effect on consumers' meal strategies, NPD
---2009, Washington D.C.---Barack Obama's Inaugural Luncheon Menu...with recipes!
---2009, USA--- Recessipes reflect the current economic situation
---2011, USA--- What's Hot in 2011/National Restaurant Association

---Future food & industry trends---

America's Changing Appetite
Hospitality Industry trends
The Strategic Framework for FAO 2000-2015, United Nations