James Mease (1771–1846)[1] was an American scientist, horticulturist, and medical doctor from Philadelphia who published the first known tomato-based ketchup recipe in 1812.

A numismatist, Mease published "Description of Some of the Medals Struck in Relation to Important Events in North America" in the Collections of the New-York Historical Society (vol.

Mease's papers are today deposited in the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library's History and Special Collections division at the University of California at Los Angeles.

[1] There is also a collection of his writings at the Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library[5] Ketchup has been around the world for centuries, beginning in China/Vietnam.

His ketchup was probably more in keeping with tomato sauce developed in England by Alexander Hunter and used by Maria Eliza Rundell in a cookbook that was published in Britain and America.