The hamburger was inspired by Hamburg, Germany, where minced beef was seasoned and formed into patties known as Hamburg steaks in the 19th century. However, the modern hamburger as a sandwich—with the beef patty between slices of bread or a bun—was invented in the United States in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Multiple claims exist regarding its exact invention location in the U.S., including:
- Hamburg, New York, where the Menches brothers reportedly invented it in 1885 at the Erie County Fair by substituting ground beef for pork sausage.
- Seymour, Wisconsin, where Charlie Nagreen is said to have served a meat patty between bread to make it portable around 1885.
- New Haven, Connecticut, where Louis Lassen reportedly served the hamburger sandwich in 1900.
- Athens, Texas, where Fletcher Davis is claimed to have invented a version of the hamburger by the early 1900s.
Thus, while the name and inspiration come from Hamburg, Germany, the hamburger sandwich was invented in the United States, with several places claiming to be the original birthplace.