Death Summary: Herbert Ralph "Herb" Peterson died at the age of 89 in Santa Barbara on March 25, 2008. A memorial service was held for Peterson in Montecito, California on April 23, 2008. The exact cause of his death is unknown.

Who was Herb Peterson : Peterson is the man who invented the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin in 1972. He was a food executive and food scientist.

Being a huge fan of eggs benedict, Peterson wanted to do something similar for the new breakfast sandwich he was developing. He eventually came up with the Egg McMuffin, which is an Egg sandwich (with the egg fried in a Teflon circle) topped with Canadian bacon and a slice of cheese. The whole thing was served on a toasted English muffin.

The first McMuffin’s were sold at McDonald’s in Santa Barbara, California, which were owned by Peterson and his son David.

The McMuffin went on to become the signature breakfast sandwich for McDonalds, owned by Ray Kroc, and has earned well over $4-5 billion dollars in revenues for the fast food chain.

Categories: Business, Food Industry, Scientists.