Herbert Ralph "Herb" Peterson (January 5, 1919 – March 25, 2008) was an American fast food advertising executive and food scientist most known for being the inventor of the McDonald's Egg McMuffin in 1972. The breakfast business that he pioneered with this item had grown to an estimated $4–5 billion in annual revenues for the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's by 1993.
The breakfast business pioneered by Herbert Ralph "Herb" Peterson, who died in 2008, had grown between $4–5 billion in 1993. He was the inventor of the McDonald's Egg McMuffin in 1972.