National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day Timeline

November 2019

The king is back

After a brief hiatus, Popeyes returns its chicken sandwich to stores, once again inciting a cultural frenzy.

August 2019

Popeyes vs. Chic-fil-A

Popeyes releases its first ever fried chicken sandwich to compete against Chick-fil-A's and sparks a frenzy, where lines down the block take hours to order the sandwich.

1940s

A sandwich is born again

Chick-fil-A claims that it invented the fried chicken sandwich in the 1940s, which is false but great marketing.

1930s

Nashville Hot Chicken Blazes a Trail

The city's infamous hot fried chicken was born out of alleged revenge for infidelity that backfired and became a city's staple cuisine.

Early 1900s

Quebecois Infiltrates America

The Quebec version of a hot chicken sandwich is chicken with bread smothered in poutine gravy. It's sustenance and easy prep make it a staple in most cafeterias and drug stores at the turn of the century.

1800s

Fried chicken modernized

During antebellum America, enslaved individuals combined the West African and Scottish techniques of frying chicken to create the style we know today.

1700s

Great Scott, it's chicken time

The Scottish start immigrating to America, one of the first purveyors of fried chicken who used heavy amounts of lard but no seasoning.