Charlie Nagreen

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Charles "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen (1870-1951) was an American claimant to the title of inventor of the hamburger.

Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, at 15 Nagreen was a vendor at the 1885 Seymour Fair.[1] After not experiencing success selling meatballs, he had an idea.[1] Knowing that the visitors to the fair would be hungry after gazing at the exhibits but wouldn't be able to walk and eat, he smashed a meatball and placed it between two slices of bread.[1] His idea was a success and he returned every year until his death in 1951.[1]

The name of the Hamburger came from the idea of "Hamburg steak", or ground beef.[1] Since this was a popular item in Seymour at the time of the 1885 fair, Nagreen decided to call the sandwich the "Hamburger".[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Heuer, Myron. "The real home of the hamburger", Herald & Journal, 1999-10-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.