Danish immigrant Louis Lassen of New Haven, Connecticut, is cited as the inventor of the hamburger sandwich by the Library of Congress. Some sources dispute the claim; here's his story.
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Who invented the hamburger? Biting into the messy history of America’s iconic sandwich. Erik Ofgang Hamburger history is dripping with lies. One popular story goes that in 1900 a customer walked into Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Conn., and asked for something he could eat on the go. Owner Louis Lassen improvised by giving him a patty of the restaurant’s steak trimmings between two pieces of toast. The customer got his carryout lunch, and the world got the hamburger sandwich. The story has been repeated many times by Connecticut and national publications, but I have recently found proof it is not true.
The true precursor to today's hamburger seems to be an inexpensive dish called hamburger steak, which began appearing on American menus in the early 1870s.