Sylvester Graham was born in West Suffield, CT on July 5, 1794. He briefly attended Amherst College before being ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1826. He married Sarah Earl and joined the Pennsylvania Temperance Union.
Graham gained followers and fame as a dietary reformer. He believed that a vegetarian diet was a cure for alcoholism and sexual urges. He advocated a diet based on eating only fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat products. He published the book Treatise on Bread and Bread-Making in 1837 in which he advocated the use of Graham flour, a type of whole grain flour that he invented. He is credited with the invention of Graham bread and the now ubiquitous Graham crackers.
Graham also believed that a healthy lifestyle required taking cold water baths, wearing loose-fitting clothing, sleeping on hard beds, and eating unheated foods at three regularly scheduled meals. Eating between meals was not advised. In 1850 he co-founded the American Vegetarian Society.
Graham's ideas about temperance and diet were adopted by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg who together invented Kellogg's Corn Flakes in 1898. The Kellogg Company, founded in 1906, is now a leading producer of breakfast cereals.
Graham died on September 11, 1851, at the age of 57, in Northampton, Massachusetts.