six months. Several members of the Royal Society and the Royal Institution examined the food upon its arrival, and found that it was perfectly preserved. Durand's patent was dedicated to the preservation technique rather than to the vessel. The technique itself was developed previously by a Frenchman, Nicolas Appert. However, Appert used exclusively glass vessels whereas Durand was the first to mention in a patent use of tin cans. After receiving the patent, Durand did not pursue canning food himself. He sold his patent in 1812 to two other Englishmen, Bryan Donkin and John Hall, for £1,000. Donkin was involved with tinning of iron from 1808 and was keen to expand it to the food industry. Donkin and Hall set up a commercial canning factory and by 1813 were producing their first canned goods for the British army. In 1818, Durand introduced tin cans in the United States by re-patenting his British patent in the US. By 1820, canned food was a recognized article in Britain and France and by 1822 in the United States. References External links History of the Can at the Can Manufacturers Institute. British inventors Food preservation 1766 births 1822 deaths