The idea, of a time to stay inside your house, probably dates back beyond recorded history. The word, which is derived from "couvre feu" meaning "cover fire" in French, goes back to medieval times. In the highly flammable towns of the time, everybody was meant to cover their fire after a certain time so a blaze could not start while everybody was asleep.

1) "curfew c.1320, from Anglo-Fr. coeverfu (1285), from O.Fr. covrefeu, lit. "cover fire," from couvre, imper. of couvrir "to cover" + feu "fire." The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s." Source and further information: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=curfew&searchmode=none 2) "The curfew bell with the associated curfew law is recorded by history as having been started by Alfred the Great. The law associated with the curfew bell is a custom that history records as being adopted by William I of England in the year 1068. The curfew law imposed upon the people was a compulsory duty they had to do or be punished like a criminal. Historians, poets, and lawyers speak of the Medieval law associated with the curfew bell as being leveled mostly against the conquered Anglo-Saxons. It was initially used as a repressive measure by William I to prevent rebellious meetings of the conquered English. He prohibited the use of live fires after the curfew bell rung to prevent associations and conspiracies. The curfew bell was heard by the Anglo-Saxons as the sound of their departed liberty and a testimony of their slavery." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curfew_bell 3) "Le mot est ancien, et si d’abord il ne désigne qu’un ustensile pour couvrir et conserver du feu sans qu’il s’éteigne, dès le Moyen-âge, il prend un sens figuré : il s’agit de couvrir les feux, c’est-à-dire d’éteindre ou de masquer, de cacher les sources de lumière. Le couvre-feu, c’est donc l’heure de l’extinction des feux. Et, bien vite, le mot va désigner le signal qui avertit qu’on éteigne : c’est une cloche particulière, sonnée de façon particulière." Source and further information: http://www.rfi.fr/lffr/articles/074/article_548.asp Translation: "The word is old, and at first it was an utensil to cover and keep fire without putting it off. Starting with the Middle Ages, it takes a figurative meaning: to cover the lights, meaning to put off or to hide the light sources. The curfew is therefore time of lights out. And soon the word will designate the warning signal for turning off: it's a special bell, rung in a particular way."

It was a joint effort. The police and doughnut shop owners collaborated yo...

the curfew creator?

Not my parents

People with sticks up their asses.... but really officials in the neighborhood who want to keep children safe from killers and rapist out their at night.

Probably some government.

PARENTS.