Who invented the sandwich?
“The sandwich was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat, although it is unlikely to have been invented by him. Indeed a form of sandwich is attributed to the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder, who is said to have put meat from the Paschal lamb and bitter herbs inside matzo (or flat bread) during Passover. However, crediting any single person with the invention of the sandwich is arguably similar to crediting someone with the invention of the wheel since they are both highly likely to have been thought of independently by different minds. It is said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue playing cards at cribbage while eating, because he did not want to get his cards sticky, from eating meat with his bare hands. The name of the earldom comes from that of the English town of Sandwich in Kentâ??from the Old English Sandwic, meaning “sand place”. Nowadays some types of sandwich are too unwieldy to
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. (1718 – 1792). He worked very long hours at his desk at the Admiralty where he was First Lord, and fell into the habit of having meat sliced, put between slices of bread and then brought to his desk so that he didn’t have to interrupt his work to go out to eat. Far better known is the malicious story put about by Sandwich’s political enemies (like Horace Walpole) that Sandwich invented the snack so that he could spend longer hours at the gaming tables. There’s a wonderful biography of Lord Sandwich. It’s title is ‘The Insatiable Earl’ and the author is N.A.M. Roger. Highly recommended!
