Who Really Invented the Hamburger?
It's America's most popular sandwich, but who was really the first person to serve up a delicious hamburger?
The Origin of the Hamburger
Every year, Americans alone consume an estimated 50 billion hamburgers, an average of 2.4 per person per day. The number might be staggering, but it reflects a national, and now global, love affair with the sandwich. From humble origins, the hamburger has evolved to fill every niche from fast food to gourmet dining. It can be mass produced with cheap ingredients or lovingly crafted with any number of flavors and cultural influences. But out of all those billions of burgers, which one was the first?
You might think that the answer is a simple one. Surely one of the most popular foods in the world has an easily traceable pedigree, right? Unfortunately, by the time anyone thought to document its origins, the burger was already widespread with multiple claimants. We may never know who is the real inventor of the hamburger, but these are some of the most credible claims known.
Hamburg Chefs
The first candidates for the invention of the hamburger are right there in its name—the people of Hamburg, Germany. Frikadelle are a type of German meatball, where beef sausage is formed into a patty and then pan-fried. The end result is similar to a hamburger patty. While frikadelle are usually eaten on their own, accompanied by sides like potato salad or red cabbage, they were also sometimes served over bread. As sandwiches in general became more popular, and German immigration to the United States increased, it’s likely that this recipe traveled with families to their new home country. The quick and tasty food may therefore have served as the inspiration for each of the claimed hamburger inventors below.
Louis Lassen
The man credited with the hamburger by the Library of Congress is Louis Lassen, who operated a lunch wagon in Connecticut in the 1890s. According to popular lore, Lassen originally sold steak sandwiches; a slab of beef between two pieces of toast. One day, having run out of steaks and faced with a customer in a rush, Lassen turned to ground beef trimmings shaped into a seasoned patty. The result was so well received that his wagon began to serve them regularly, eventually expanding into a restaurant that still serves his classic recipe today. The burgers may be served with onions, cheese, and tomato, but never ketchup.
Lassen’s restaurant has a strong claim due to its longevity, but some skeptics argue that a patty served on toasted bread is more of a sandwich than a proper burger.
Fletcher Davis
Another claimant, hailing from Athens, Texas, is Fletcher Davis. Like Louis Lassen, Davis’ story begins with beef patties served on toasted bread, topped with onions and condiments. According to Davis’ supporters, he took his tasty burgers to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. The sandwiches were a hit, and savvy vendors carried the idea home with them to spread across the nation. “Uncle Fletch” is backed by the New York Times, which mentioned a hamburger sandwich being sold at the fair but not the name of its vendor.
Frank and Charles Menches
In a different version of this story, the hamburger was in fact named after Hamburg, New York. Two brothers, Frank and Charles Menches, set up shop selling pork sausage sandwiches at a county fair there in 1885. After running out of pork, rather than closing up, they substituted beef patties and named their invention after its hometown.
Charlie Nagreen
Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin, bears a similar tale to the Menches brothers. Nagreen, a teenager at the time, was selling meatballs at the Seymour Fair in 1885. To make his product more convenient to passersby, he placed the meatballs between two slices of bread. Nagreen, familiar with the Hamburg steaks and meatballs mentioned earlier, named the sandwiches after them. Over the years, he refined his sandwiches, including topping them with pickles and switching to buns. He became known as “Hamburger Charlie,” giving him a strong claim to the title of the hamburger’s inventor.
Oscar Bilby
Oscar Bilby is yet another cook who could easily be credited with the invention. Though his sandwich dates to 1891, it makes one compelling point: Bilby’s were the first known burgers to be served on buns instead of toast. The story goes that Bilby grilled up beef patties and placed them on yeast buns prepared by his wife. The recipe was eventually brought to the public with the opening of Weber's Superior Root Beer Drive-In, a restaurant that has remained a Tulsa favorite ever since.
The Spread of the Burger
These are just a few of the stories that attempt to explain the origin of the hamburger. In all likelihood, multiple people hit upon the same idea at around the same time, but the subject is still a source of debate for the hometowns of each supposed inventor. What is known, however, is that in 1921 the burger chain White Castle began selling its trademark sliders on buns. In 1940, McDonald’s opened its first store and started its meteoric rise to become the most successful restaurant chain in history. Hamburgers and cheeseburgers grew to be a staple of road trips, lunch hours, and backyard barbecues. Today, the impact of the beef industry on the environment has drawn increasing scrutiny, leading to the development of vegetarian and synthetic burger patties.
No matter who really cooked the world’s first hamburger, there’s no denying the revolutionary affect of this simple sandwich on global cuisine.
Sources
Andrews, Colman. “July Fourth Food! How Many Hot Dogs and Hamburgers Are Consumed in Your State?” USA Today, 17 June 2019, eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/17/july-4th-hot-dog-and-hamburger-consumption-by-state/39580323.
Cartwright, Gary. “The World’s First Hamburger.” Texas Monthly, 18 Sept. 2017, www.texasmonthly.com/food/the-worlds-first-hamburger.
DeLauro, Rosa. “Connecticut: Louis’ Lunch.” The Library of Congress, memory.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200002814. Accessed 15 Aug. 2021.
“Hamburger Charlie - Home of The Hamburger.” Burger Fest, Home of the Hamburger, www.homeofthehamburger.org/hamburger-charlie. Accessed 15 Aug. 2021.
“Our Story.” Weber’s Superior Root Beer Restaurant, www.webersoftulsa.com/webers_story.asp. Accessed 15 Aug. 2021.
Smith, Andrew. Hamburger: A Global History. 1st ed., Reaktion Books, 2021.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
