when was mcdonald 's founded

McDonald's was originally founded by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald on May 15, 1940, as a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers transformed the business into a hamburger restaurant with a streamlined menu and introduced the Speedee Service System, an innovative fast-food assembly-line process. Later, in 1954, Ray Kroc joined as a franchise agent, and in 1955, he opened the first franchised McDonald's restaurant. The full McDonald's Corporation as known today began to take shape under Kroc's leadership starting in 1955, and he bought out the brothers in 1961.