Jim Delligatti

Michael James Delligatti (August 2, 1918 – November 28, 2016) was an American entrepreneur. He was an early franchisee of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's, opening the first of his eventual 48 branches in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1957. Delligatti is famously known as the creator of McDonald's "Big Mac" hamburger in 1967. Delligatti attended grammar school in Uniontown before his family moved to Fairmont, West Virginia. After graduating Fairmont Senior High School, he served with the United States Army in Europe during World War II between 1942 and 1943. He was discharged after suffering from trench foot.

Career

After the war, Delligatti owned a drive-through restaurant in Newport Beach, California. After meeting Ray Kroc at a restaurant fair in 1955, Delligatti started as a McDonald's franchisee in 1957. His franchise was based in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, about south of Pittsburgh, and his holdings grew to 48 stores. According to his son Michael, Jim ate a Big Mac every week.

In 2007, Delligatti opened the Big Mac Museum, home to the "world's largest Big Mac", which is more than across. As of 2016, McDonald's sells about 550 million Big Macs in the U.S. every year.

Personal life and death Delligatti was married twice, with his first marriage to Ann Vunora ending in divorce. They had one son. He and his second wife, Eleanor "Ellie" Carmody, had one son, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. He died on November 28, 2016, at his home in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, at age 98.