Jim Delligatti created the Big Mac for McDonald’s in 1967.
Delligatti was a McDonald’s franchisee in the Pittsburgh area who developed the sandwich as a larger hamburger with two beef patties, a middle bun, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and special sauce. The additional bun layer helped separate the patties and made the sandwich distinctive within the McDonald’s menu.
The Big Mac was first sold in selected markets before becoming a national menu item in the United States in 1968. Its name and construction helped establish it as a signature McDonald’s product rather than merely another hamburger option.
A common mix-up is the launch date: 1967 refers to its creation and initial introduction, while 1968 is associated with national availability in the United States. The Big Mac later became so strongly linked with McDonald’s that its price was used in the informal Big Mac Index as a way to compare purchasing power between countries.