Who invented the cardboard box?

In 1890, Robert Gair invented the corrugated cardboard box and developed the process to manufacture it in bulk. He was a printer and paper-bag maker in Brooklyn and made the discovery by accident. While he was printing seed bags, a metal ruler he used to crease bags made cuts instead.

Gair's invention made the mass production of cardboard boxes easy, since he only had to cut and crease flat pieces that could later be folded. His invention was further advanced when flaked cereals were developed, and it was the Kellogg brothers who became the first company to use pre-cut cartons to package their cereals.