Charlie Nagreen
Encyclopedia
Charles "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen (1870-1951) was an American claimant to the title of inventor of the hamburger
.
This claim is supported by various local history organizations, but not widely accepted; see History of the hamburger in the United States.
The Seymour story goes like this:
Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin
, at 15 Nagreen was a vendor at the 1885 Seymour Fair
. After not experiencing success selling meatball
s, he had an idea. 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. His idea was a success and he returned every year until his death in 1951.
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".
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
.
This claim is supported by various local history organizations, but not widely accepted; see History of the hamburger in the United States.
The Seymour story goes like this:
Born in Hortonville, Wisconsin
Hortonville, Wisconsin
Hortonville is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,711 at the 2010 census.-History:The village was founded in 1848 by landowner Alonzo Horton. One of Father Horton's first priorities was to dam Black Otter Creek, creating the Black Otter Lake...
, at 15 Nagreen was a vendor at the 1885 Seymour Fair
Seymour, Wisconsin
Seymour is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,451 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of Seymour and the Town of Osborn.-History:...
. After not experiencing success selling meatball
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
s, he had an idea. 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
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
and placed it between two slices of bread. His idea was a success and he returned every year until his death in 1951.
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".
See also
- MeatballMeatballA meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...