On this day Fannie Farmer was born in Boston. Farmer transformed the culinary world by introducing "standard, level measurements" such as the cup and teaspoon. Before this recipes called for a "nut of butter", or "two fingers of water".

As a teenager she suffered paralysis from a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair, from which she learned to cook assisting her mother. She enrolled in the Boston Cooking-School, graduating in 1889, and stayed on as assistant director until taking over in 1894.

The Fannie Farmer Cook Book was published in 1896, and gave Farmer a national following. Farmer spent her later life promoting the health of a good diet to hospitals and the public through lectures and frequent articles.