Where did the hamburger come from?

Have you ever wondered where the first hamburger on a bun came from? Which story you believe depends on your definition of a hamburger. Is it a hamburger when served on a bun? Or is it a hamburger when served between two slices of bread? Here are some stories:

1885

Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin, at the age of 15, sold hamburgers from his ox-drawn food stand at the Outagamie County Fair. He went to the Outagamie County Fair and set up a stand selling meatballs. Business wasn’t good and he quickly realized that it was because meatballs were too difficult to eat while strolling around the fair. In a flash of innovation, he flattened the meatballs, placed them between two slices of bread and called his new creation a hamburger. He was known to many as "Hamburger Charlie." He returned to sell hamburgers at the fair every year until his death in 1951. The town of Seymour has a Hamburger Hall of Fame that they built as a tribute to Charlie Nagreen and the legacy he left behind. The town claims to be "Home of the Hamburger" and holds an annual Burger Festival on the first Saturday of August each year. Events include a ketchup slide, bun toss, and hamburger-eating contest, as well as the "world's largest hamburger parade."

1931

Popeye the sailor man, a cartoon figures in the comic strip created by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929, and syndicated by the Hearst newspapers’ King Features syndicate featured the character J. Wellington Wimpy, known as Wimpy. Wimpy joined the Popeye comic strip in 1931, and he played a significant role in popularizing the hamburger in the United States. Wimpy is probably best known for his consumption of hamburgers. The popularity of the character Wimpy spawned a successful chain of hamburger restaurants called Wimpy’s, that flourished for over a decade. This burger went for the upscale market at 10 cents a burger. In keeping with the founder’s wishes, all 1,500 restaurants were closed down when he died in 1978.