Which franchisee created the Big Mac?

Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee, created the Big Mac.

Delligatti developed the sandwich in 1965 in the kitchen of his McDonald’s franchise near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He wanted a larger, double-decker hamburger that could compete with the Big Boy sandwich sold by a rival restaurant chain. McDonald’s initially resisted adding another large burger, but Delligatti eventually received permission to sell it.

The Big Mac debuted at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania, restaurant on April 22, 1967, priced at 45 cents. It became popular, entered the menus of U.S. McDonald’s restaurants nationwide in 1968, and became one of the company’s signature products.

Ray Kroc did not create the sandwich, although he led McDonald’s during its expansion. The burger also had earlier proposed names—Aristocrat and Blue Ribbon Burger—before advertising secretary Esther Glickstein Rose suggested “Big Mac.”