Michael James Delligatti (August 2, 1918 – November 28, 2016) was an American entrepreneur. He was an early franchisee of the fast food restaurant chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, opening the first of his eventual 48 branches in

Uniontown, Pennsylvania Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...

, in 1957. Delligatti is also credited as the creator of McDonald's "

Big Mac The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's fl ...

" hamburger in 1967.

Early life

Michael James Delligatti was born in Uniontown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on August 2, 1918, the son of James Delligatti, a farrier, cobbler and candy maker, and his wife, Lucille Dandrea. He was educated there and at

Fairmont Senior High School Fairmont Senior High School, is a Public High School, public high school in Fairmont, West Virginia. The current school building, built in 1928, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Serving grades nine through twelve, it is one ...

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...

, before serving in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he was

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

after suffering from

trench foot Trench foot is a type of foot damage due to moisture. Initial symptoms often include tingling or itching which can progress to numbness. The feet may become red or bluish in color. As the condition worsens the feet can start to swell and smel ...

Career

After the war, Delligatti owned a

drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...

restaurant in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

and, after meeting

Ray Kroc Raymond Albert Kroc (October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984) was an American businessman. He purchased the fast food company McDonald's in 1961 and was its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with the global expansion of McDonald's, turnin ...

at a restaurant fair in 1955, Delligatti started as a

franchisee in 1957. His franchise was based in Uniontown,

, about south of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and his holdings grew to 48 stores. Delligatti thought up the concept for the Big Mac in 1965 in the kitchen of his first McDonald's franchise, located on McKnight Road in suburban Ross Township and started serving it at his Uniontown McDonald's in April 1967 for 45 cents. By 1968, the Big Mac was on the menu of every American McDonald's, and in 1969, it accounted for 19% of total sales. According to a 1970s jingle the burger contains: "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun." Interviewed by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' in 1993, Delligatti agreed that he was not the inventor of the double-decker burger: "This wasn't like discovering the lightbulb. The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket." In an interview with a

television station, Delligatti said that he had received no

royalty payment A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

s for the creation of the Big Mac, but had received a plaque. According to his son Michael, Jim ate a Big Mac every week. In 2007, Delligatti opened the Big Mac Museum, home to the "world's largest Big Mac", which is more than across. As of 2016, McDonald's sells about 550 million Big Macs in the U.S. every year.

Personal life and death

Delligatti was married twice, with his first marriage to Ann Vunora ending in divorce. They had one son. He and his second wife, Eleanor "Ellie" Carmody, had one son, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. He died on November 28, 2016, at his home in

Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is an affluent suburb of Pittsburgh located northeast of downtown. The borough continually garners national prominence and is home to many of the wealthiest and most powerful p ...

, at age 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delligatti, Jim 1918 births 2016 deaths McDonald's people Businesspeople from Pennsylvania People from Uniontown, Pennsylvania People from Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II Fairmont Senior High School alumni 20th-century American businesspeople People from Fairmont, West Virginia