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History of Corn Timeline
(c. 7000 BCE – Present)Corn (maize) originated from the wild grass teosinte and was domesticated by Indigenous peoples in southern Mexico around 9,000 years ago. It became a cornerstone of Mesoamerican civilizations like the Maya and Aztec, spread across the Americas through trade, and was introduced to Europe after 1492. Today, corn is one of the world's most widely grown crops, used for food, animal feed, ethanol fuel, and countless industrial products. More Less
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Part of our collection of food and drink history timelines.
Origins and Invention
Will Kellogg creates flaked cereal
1894
In 1894, Will Kellogg created the flaked breakfast cereal, originally made with wheat, for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked alongside his brother John Kellogg.
Cereal developed at the Battle Creek Sanitarium
1894
The flaked cereal was created in 1894 for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a famed health facility where Will Kellogg worked with his brother John Kellogg, who served as superintendent.
Image source: Battle Creek Sanitarium
John Kellogg serves as sanitarium superintendent
1894
At the time of the cereal's invention in 1894, John Harvey Kellogg was the superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where his younger brother Will assisted him in developing new foods for patients.
Image source: John Harvey Kellogg
Original recipe made with wheat
1894
The cereal that Will Kellogg created in 1894 was originally made with wheat, before later versions famously came to be made from corn.
Image source: Corn flakes
Development of flaked cereal described by family members
1894
The development of the flaked cereal in 1894 has been variously described over the years by John Kellogg, his wife Ella Eaton Kellogg, his younger brother Will, and other family members.
Ella Eaton Kellogg's account of the invention
1894
Among those who gave varying accounts of how the flaked cereal was developed in 1894 was Ella Eaton Kellogg, the wife of John Harvey Kellogg.
Image source: Ella Eaton Kellogg
Conflicting family accounts of the cereal's origin
1894
Multiple conflicting narratives about the creation of the flaked cereal emerged, as John Kellogg, Ella Eaton Kellogg, Will Kellogg, and other family members each offered their own versions of events surrounding the 1894 development.
Legal and Patent Battles
Patent filed for Flaked Cereals process
May 31, 1895
A patent for 'Flaked Cereals and Process of Preparing Same' was filed on May 31, 1895, protecting the innovative method used to produce the new breakfast food.
Patent granted after legal battle between brothers
1896
The patent for the flaked cereal process was granted in 1896 only after a legal battle between the two Kellogg brothers, John and Will, over rights to the invention.
Image source: Kellogg's
Brothers' dispute over cereal credit
1896
A legal battle erupted between John Kellogg and his brother Will over the flaked cereal, ultimately resolved when the patent for the process was granted in 1896.
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Key Facts
- Corn was domesticated from a wild grass called teosinte in the Balsas Valley of southern Mexico around 9,000 years ago.
- Indigenous peoples selectively bred corn over thousands of generations, transforming it from a tiny grass seed into the large, productive crop we know today.
- Corn was central to Mesoamerican cultures; both the Maya and Aztec civilizations relied on it as their primary staple food and featured it prominently in mythology.
- After Columbus's voyages in 1492, corn was carried to Europe and quickly spread across Africa and Asia, becoming a global crop within centuries.
- The United States is now the world's largest producer of corn, growing roughly one-third of global supply, much of it used for animal feed, ethanol, and processed foods.
Source
This History of Corn timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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