The Creator of McDonal's Big Mac Sandwich

Jim DelliGatti met McDonald’s founder and president Ray Croc at the Chicago Restaurant Show in 1955, and in 1957, he opened his first McDonald’s franchise in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

Jim invented the Big Mac in 1965 and debuted the sandwich in Uniontown on April 22, 1967. He also co-founded the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh in 1979 and opened a total of 48 McDonald’s locations across western PA. In 2016 alone, McDonald’s sold more than 550 million Bic Macs just in the U.S.

Delligatti passed away at the age of 98 six years ago this month. However, his family still owns and operates 18 locations in western PA. So, the next time you’re eating a Big Mac, whether on Veteran’s Day or not, remember that it was a veteran that made it happen.