When was cereal invented?

Breakfast cereals have their root in the temperance movement in the United States in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Americans were still eating an English breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and beef, with very little fiber. As a result, many people suffered painful and debilitating gastrointestinal disorders. The first breakfast cereal, Granula (named after granules) was invented in 1863 by James Caleb Jackson, operator of the Jackson Sanitorium in Dansville, New York and a staunch vegetarian. Despite its high fiber content, the cereal never became popular. It was far too inconvenient, as the heavy bran nuggets needed soaking overnight before they were tender enough to eat.