What year did McDonald's introduce the Big Mac?

McDonald’s introduced the Big Mac in 1967. It debuted on April 22 at a McDonald’s operated by franchisee Jim Delligatti in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, before expanding nationwide the following year.

Delligatti created the sandwich to compete with the larger double-decker burgers sold by Big Boy restaurants. The original Big Mac used two beef patties, shredded lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, special sauce, and a sesame-seed bun with an extra middle layer of bread. Its unusual three-part bun helped distinguish it from McDonald’s standard hamburgers.

The sandwich was not always called the Big Mac. Earlier proposed names included the Aristocrat and the Blue Ribbon Burger, but neither caught on. Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old McDonald’s advertising secretary, suggested “Big Mac,” which became the successful name.

The 1967 introduction date is sometimes confused with 1968, the year the sandwich was added to McDonald’s menus across the United States. The earlier date refers to its regional debut; 1968 marks nationwide availability. The Big Mac later became a global symbol of McDonald’s and inspired The Economist’s Big Mac Index for comparing purchasing power between countries.