The Chicago Butter and Egg Board, founded in 1898, was a spin-off entity of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). In the year 1919, it was re-organized as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Roots of the Chicago Butter and Egg Board are traceable to the 19th century.
Initially, the Chicago Butter and Egg Board traded only two types of contracts, butter and eggs. Over several decades, it evolved into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME or the "Merc") which now trades futures contracts and options contracts on over 50 products, from pork bellies to eurodollars and stock market indices.