Gail Borden

(November 9, 1801 - January 11, 1874)

Gail Borden was a surveyor, inventor and businessman. As an early pioneer settler in Texas he made the first topographical map of Texas, and in 1838 he surveyed and laid out the site of Galveston.

He developed a meat biscuit in 1851, and after several failed attempts, finally developed a method to make condensed milk in 1853. He had to work hard to convince the U.S. Patent Office to grant him a patent, but he finally obtained one in 1856.

His first attempts to market condensed milk ended in business failure, but finally with financial backing from a wholesale grocer, Jeremiah Milbank, he founded the New York Condensed Milk Company, later renamed Borden Inc., which grew into the largest dairy in the U.S.