Burger King introduced the Whopper hamburger in 1957.
The Whopper was created as a larger, more substantial hamburger and quickly became Burger King’s signature product. Its name helped distinguish it from smaller hamburgers sold by competing fast-food chains during the expansion of the American burger industry.
Burger King began in Florida in the 1950s and grew through franchising. The Whopper gave franchise restaurants a consistent flagship item that could be marketed nationally while allowing customers to customize toppings.
A frequent date mix-up is 1954, the year associated with the founding of Burger King’s predecessor company. The Whopper came later, in 1957. It is also sometimes confused with the Big Mac, which McDonald’s introduced nationally in 1968.