Swiss American Historical Society Review
Keywords
Hamburger origins, Fletcher Davis, cheeseburger invention
Abstract
We know about Ricola. But hamburgers? Rumor says that German sailors in an American port put chopped beef on bread and named it “Hamburg” after their hometown. Whether this is true or not is unclear.
What is documented, however, is that Texan Fletcher Davis sold “hamburger steaks” at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. They consisted of a beef patty – a flat minced steak patty – with sweet pickles, mustard and onions, sandwiched between two halves of a bread roll.
So far so good.
But who invented the cheeseburger?
Recommended Citation
Bosshard-Kälin, Susann
(2025)
"Did a Swiss American Invent the Cheeseburger?,"
Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 61:
No.
3, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol61/iss3/4