The principle of bread with some sort of filling dates back thousands of years before the principle was termed a "sandwich". The settlements of the Middle East are known to be the first to make a type of flat bread from the grains that they planted and harvested. These breads after cooked on an open fire were used as a device sort of like a plate to hold other portions of the meal such as meat.

During the 1st Century Rabbi Hillel is credited with a practice of eating a piece of bread with various fillings. It is the first recorded version of what we term today as a sandwich. In the 1st Century it was just the Passover ritual of eating herbs, chopped apples and nuts in between two pieces of matzo. Today it has become to be known as the "Hillel Sandwich".

English historians know that for centuries field workers would carry to work slices of meat in between pieces of bread. But it wasn't until 1762 that the practice was given its name as a result of a favorite meal enjoyed by John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.

A frequent gambler at a London private gentleman's club called the Beef Steak Club, Montagu would order a meal that consisted of salted beef in between two pieces of toasted bread. This so he could continue his gambling without having to break for supper, the meal prepared in this fashion allowed him to eat with one hand while leaving the other free to play his cards. Montagu never claimed to invent the sandwich, he himself stated that he was inspired by seeing the Greeks and Turks eating stuffed pita breads during his diplomatic trips.

The patrons of the Beef Steak Club are responsible for the first use of the word when they began to order with the phase "give me the same thing as Sandwich". Thus began the term that started the practice of serving sandwiches as late night meals during society balls. Charlotte Mason a Victorian author wrote the first cookbook recipes for sandwiches. In the book she recommended removing the crust from the slices of bread and soon thereafter they became a regular item at tea parties.

Private clubs began offering the "Club Sandwich" as the sandwich became a common lunchtime fare in the early 19th century. At the same time sandwiches became a regular menu item at taverns and train stations throughout England due to one being able to eat a meal while standing.

It wasn't the late 1830's until the sandwich reached the United States. In her cookbook titled "Directions for Cookery", Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie included a recipe for Ham Sandwiches. This is the first sandwich recipe introduced to Americans that to this day remains one of the most popular types of sandwiches.

By the late 1800's, the sandwich was one of the most popular lunchtime meals in the U.S., especially among school children. It remains to this day as the number one meal type eaten by Americans at lunch. It seems that just about everything that Americans can come up with is eventually eaten between two slices of bread.