Charles R. Nagreen (2 May 18705 June 1951), known as "Hamburger Charlie", was an American claimant to the title of inventor of the

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

Career

Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin, Nagreen was a 15-year-old vendor at the 1885 Seymour Fair. After not experiencing success selling

meatball A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are m ...

s, he had an idea. Knowing that the visitors to the fair would be hungry after gazing at the exhibits but would not be able to walk and eat, he smashed a

and placed it between two slices of bread. His idea was a success, and he returned every year until his death in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, in 1951.

Controversy

The name of the hamburger came from the idea of "Hamburg steak", or ground beef. Since this was a popular item in Seymour at the time of the 1885 fair, Nagreen decided to call the sandwich the "Hamburger". This version of events is supported by local history organizations.''e.g.'' Home of the Hamburger, Seymour, Wisconsin
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References

1870 births 1951 deaths People from Hortonville, Wisconsin American chefs American male chefs {{Chef-bio-stub