The Juicy Tale of How the Hamburger Became a Global Icon

There’s a long list of pioneers and events to credit for the greatest food ever invented — the hamburger: American businessmen, German political refugees, the 1904 World’s Fair, World War II soldiers, medieval traders, Mesopotamian farmers, and the domestication of cattle 10,000 years ago. The modern hamburger is around 100 years old. Today, nearly 100 billion are served globally per year — Americans eat about half!

Ground Beef Steak Comes to America

The Revolutions of 1848, a series of uprisings across the German Confederation, led to political instability and increased immigration to the United States. Germans brought their favorite foods with them, including beer (and beer gardens) and a variety of beef cuts and dishes. Hamburg was known for high-quality beef, so restaurants soon offered a Hamburg-style chopped steak.

At the same time, raw beef was often prescribed by doctors for gastrointestinal issues, usually chopped or ground. In 1867, New York doctor James H. Salisbury suggested cooked beef patties were just as beneficial, and cooks began serving “Salisbury Steak.” Coincidentally, home meat grinders were gaining popularity and Americans were eating more ground beef. Between German cuisine, rising popularity of beef patties, and home grinders, the stage was set — but the hamburger still needed its essential ingredient: buns.

The Hamburger Gets “Fast”

We don’t know exactly when or where the hamburger bun first appeared — sometime in the late 19th century, somewhere between lunch wagons, fair stands, and roadside diners in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Ohio, New York, or Texas. But the hamburger made a splash at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, alongside waffle cones, cotton candy, peanut butter, and iced tea. Despite Upton Sinclair’s scathing 1905 novel The Jungle, which exposed the beef industry’s horrors, fast food helped save the hamburger.

Edgar Ingram and Walter Anderson opened the first White Castle in Kansas in 1921. With its clean white porcelain and shiny steel, White Castle demonstrated how healthy and hygienic hamburgers could be — Ingram even commissioned a study to prove it. On-site meat grinding reassured the public, launching the hamburger’s success and inspiring a post–World War II fast food boom — McDonald’s and In-N-Out Burger in 1948, Burger King in 1954, and Wendy’s in 1969.

While hamburgers boomed in America, World War II soldiers took them abroad, introducing the food worldwide. That, along with McDonald’s global franchising, helped the hamburger become an international favorite. From Mesopotamian cattle farms to the modern smashburger, it’s been an incredible journey. Next time you’re chowing down on a hamburger, take a moment to remember how special it is.