A little fuzzy on the history…
Guitar Center of all places put together a decent history on the iconic Big Muff pedal from Electro Harmonix. While it wasn’t the first fuzz circuit (I think I recall the Tone Bender gets that claim), it’s certainly become one of the most ubiquitous, with a dozen variations on the circuit on the market from EHX alone, not including boutique clones bringing their own twists to the design.
and while you’re at it, here’s a Spotify playlist on the subject, not just the songs named in the article but other early instances of fuzz and distortion beyond just cooking the tubes:
