McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Big Mac hamburger creator Michael James "Jim" Delligatti, died at the age of 98 on Nov. 28 at his home in Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Read on to learn more about him.

3 Interesting Facts About McDonalds' Big Mac Inventor Jim Delligatti:

 

1. Jim Delligatti started as a McDonald’s franchisee in the 1950s.

Delligatti’s franchise is based in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He was one of the largest McDonald's franchise holders with  48 stores.  He began to improve the fast food restaurant chain's burger in the middle of the 1960s. He then added a second burger and six other ingredients. Delligatti worked for two years to come up with the right combination for his "special sauce."

2. Delligatti launched the Big Mac hamburger at his McDonald's Pennsylvania restaurant in 1967.

The Big Mac is a seven-ingredient hamburger that was launched at Delligatti's Pennsylvania restaurant in 1967. The burger has two beef patties, a special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun. It became available nationwide in 1968 and can be found in more than 100 countries. McDonald’s has 900 million Big Mac burger yearly sales worldwide.

READ: McDonald’s Postpones Selling The Big Mac In Venezuela Due To Bun Shortage

In 2007, Delligatti opened the Big Mac Museum, home to the "world's largest Big Mac."  Visitors can photograph the hamburger which is more than four meters wide.

3. James Delligatti was considered as a legendary franchisee within McDonald’s system.

"Jim was a legendary franchisee within McDonald's system who made a lasting impression on our brand," Associated Press (AP) reported the company as saying. McDonald's sent out a tweet to honor the Big Mac creator, which includes a quote from him.

"I would never have dreamed that my creation would turn into a piece of  Americana," Delligatti said in an earlier statement.

The Big Mac recipe was never changed since its invention in 1967.

Here's the tweet posted by McDonald's to honor the creator of Big Mac hamburger:

 


Jim Delligatti was born in  Uniontown, Pennsylvania on Aug. 2, 1918. He was the son of a candy maker and a cobbler. Deligatti is survived by his wife, Ellie and their two sons, as well as five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

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