Herb Peterson, the man who invented the Egg McMuffin and introduced the concept of breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died. He was 89.

Peterson was a McDonald's franchisee in the 1970s (and, up until his death, was actually still a co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in California).

Forty years ago, McDonald's did not open before 11am and Peterson felt, according to this 2006 interview, that not offering something during those early morning hours was simply bad for business.

Peterson asked a local blacksmith to make an egg ring to keep the fried egg round and tidy for a hand-held sandwich. Peterson concocted the meal in his McDonald's restaurant in Santa Barbara and asked Ray Kroc, McDonald's founder and Peterson's friend, to give it a try. The Egg McMuffin debuted as a national product four years later.

Here is one of the early TV ads for the then-new breakfast food:

For more information, see this article from Associated Press.