Even the lowly "tin can" deserves an entry on H2G2. So, here it is. ¹

Napoleon and early developments

Many people have the vague impression that Napoleon invented canned food. Actually, it was Napoleon's government that offered a prize of 12,000 francs in 1795 for the invention of a method of preserving food for the army and navy. The prize was claimed in 1809 by Nicholas Appert, "the father of canning." However it's important to note that Appert did not use tin cans. Rather, his process involved vacuum-packing food in jars sealed with pitch. Appert was inspired by the fact that wine stayed fresh in bottles, an obvious inspiration for a Frenchman.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Napoleonic Wars, King George III of England granted a patent to Peter Durand for the invention of the tin-plated iron can as a container for food.

Those American Inventors

Naturally, things were not quiet on the western side of the Atlantic either (are they ever?). In 1825 Thomas Kensett, Sr. patented the tin-plated can in the United States, and in 1847 Allen Taylor patented a machine-stamped tin can with extension edges (those little ridges at the end which today's can openers hook on to). Taylor's was probably the first can that we'd recognize as being nearly identical to cans of today.

Another breakthrough in American canning was the invention of canned milk by Gail Borden, who patented his invention in 1856. Borden was one of the classic American crackpots. He lost $100,000 (big money in those days) trying to perfect the "meat biscuit" (made of dehydrated meat mixed with flour) and had two milk-canning plants fail before the Civil War happened and built up a sudden demand for his product.

The tapered can for corned beef (from which today's meat cans, including those for Spam, are directly descended) was developed in Chicago in 1875 by Arthur A. Libby and William J. Wilson. "Libby's" went on to become one of the better known canned food brands in the United States.

The Australian Connection

Things were not quiet down under, either. Sizar Elliot opened the first canning factory in Australia in 1846, and by 1869 Australia was exporting over a million kilograms of tinned meat per year. Fruit canning in Australia started around 1917, and the Australian canning industry really took off in World War II, feeding the appetites of the allied armies and navies in the Pacific Theater.

The Modern Can

Of course, invention always marches on. In 1921 enameled cans were introduced, as this lining was found to prevent discoloration of food. Instantly the term "corn black" became obsolete.

In 1965, the tin-free steel can was introduced to the market. Despite the increasing prevalence of these cans by now, we still call them "tin cans", and given the speed with which the English language changes, we're likely to do so for many years to come.

Of course, these days you can find anything from asparagus to whole chickens in cans. Canned food, despite the occasional bad press (notably during the 1950s, when frozen food was promoted as a more "modern" alternative) remains popular and nutritious in most developed countries today. I'll bet most readers of this entry have at least a few tins of food in their own pantries somewhere.

If you'd like to know more about cans, one nice place to start is with the Australian Canned Food site.