Birthplace: Chalons-sur-Marne, France Location of death: Massy,
France Cause of death: unspecified Remains: Buried, Massy,
France Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Inventor, Chef Executive summary: Food preservation
In the late 18th century, as Napoleon Bonaparte led France to
war against its neighbors, feeding the French army posed a
serious logistical problem. The government offered a 12,000
franc prize to anyone who could devise a practical means for
preserving perishable foodstuffs, and Nicolas Appert, the son of
an innkeeper and owner of a small but successful confectionery
shop in Paris, became obsessed with the challenge. He undertook
several years of trial-and-error experiments, leading to his
1810 publication of the first safe methodology for
appertization, now commonly called canning. The book, The Art of
Preserving All Kinds of Animal and Vegetable Substances for
Several Years, was promptly translated into English, German,
Italian, Swedish, and other languages, and r