Herb Peterson

Herbert Ralph "Herb" Peterson (January 5 1919 – March 25 2008) was an American fast food executive and food scientist most known for being the inventor of the McDonald's Egg McMuffin in 1972.cite news |first=|last=|title=Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies in California at 89 |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/27/america/Obit-Peterson.php|work= Associated Press |publisher=International Herald Tribune |date=2008-03-27 |accessdate=2008-03-27] [Date of birth, and that born in U.S.A., from [http://www.genealogue.com/2008/03/genealogue-challenge-123.html Genealogue Challenge #123] ] The breakfast business that he pioneered with this item has grown to an estimated $4-5 billion dollars in annual revenues for the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's by 1993.cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3402/is_199306/ai_n8157781
title=The scoop on the egg McMuffin |author=Steve Weiss| date=June 1993| accessdate=2008-03-27|publisher=Restaurants & Institutions]

As a vice president at D'Arcy Advertising in Chicago, which was McDonald's in-house advertising arm, Peterson coined McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day." He later became a franchise co-owner and the operator of six McDonald's restaurants in and around Santa Barbara, California.cite web|url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310ap_obit_peterson.html
title=Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89 |author=Denise Petski| date=2008-03-26| accessdate=2008-03-27|work=Associated Press| publisher=Seattle Post Intelligence]

Peterson developed the Egg McMuffin, which has become a McDonald's breakfast signature item, in 1972. Peterson was said to like eggs benedict, so he worked to develop a breakfast item which was similar to it for the fast food chain. Peterson eventually came up with the Egg McMuffin, which was an egg sandwich consisting of an egg formed in a Teflon circle with the yolks broken, topped with Canadian bacon and a slice of cheese. The Egg McMuffin was served as an open faced sandwich on a buttered and toasted English muffin.

The Egg McMuffin was first sold at a McDonald's in Goleta, California (near Santa Barbara), which Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Peterson died in Santa Barbara on March 25 2008 at the age of 89.cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8708766?source=rss |title=Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89 |date=2008-03-26| accessdate=2008-03-27|publisher=Los Angeles Daily News] He was survived by his wife, son and three daughters. A memorial service for Peterson was held on April 23 2008 in Montecito, California.

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