Margarine was invented for a prize offered by Napoleon III. The emperor wanted cheap butter for the army and the poor, and in 1869 the chemist Mège-Mouriès won with oleomargarine made from beef fat.

1869

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The event

• The invention of margarine1869 · Paris. Napoleon III offered a prize for a cheap butter substitute for the army and the poor. In 1869 the chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès won it with “oleomargarine”, made from beef fat and milk.

19th century

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