John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, was famous in 18th century England as a powerful political figure. He was also known to be fond of playing cards. The story was told that he once spent an entire night at the card table. Instead of leaving the game to have dinner, he ordered that slices of meat be brought to him between two pieces of bread. In that way he could continue playing while he ate. This convenient type of food soon became popular throughout England. Because of the story about the Earl, it became known as thesandwich.