The Egg McMuffin, launched in 1972, became a major part of McDonald’s brand identity.
Herb Peterson, a McDonald’s franchise owner in Santa Barbara, California, created the sandwich as a portable breakfast inspired partly by eggs Benedict. It combined a toasted English muffin with a round egg, Canadian bacon, and cheese.
McDonald’s began testing the sandwich in 1971 and introduced it nationally in 1972. Its success helped establish breakfast as a major fast-food daypart and encouraged McDonald’s to build a broader morning menu.
The Egg McMuffin is sometimes dated to 1971 because that was the year of its test-market development. The important distinction is between testing in 1971 and national introduction in 1972.