Introduction: An ancient form of cheesecake may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece even prior to Romans' adoption of it with the conquest of Greece. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes. Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently. The type of modern cheesecake that has an uncooked, cream-cheese filling on a cookie-crumb base is an American invention that differs greatly from English cheesecakes, which traditionally include dried fruits and spices and are baked in the oven. (Source: Wikipedia)