---
title: "Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the hamburger?"
description: "the Eiffel Tower vs the hamburger: the Eiffel Tower came first, by 11 years — 1889 against 1900. What happened in each case."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/eiffel-tower-vs-hamburger/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the hamburger?

**Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the hamburger?: the Eiffel Tower**

1889 — 11 years before the hamburger

the Eiffel Tower came first, by 11 years. The tower opened for the Paris Exposition Universelle.

## Side by side

|  | the Eiffel Tower | the hamburger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1889 | 1900 |
| Date | 1889-03-31 | — |
| Category | landmark | food |
| What happened | The tower opened for the Paris Exposition Universelle. | Competing American claims put the first burger between 1885 and 1904. |

## the Eiffel Tower

Built for the 1889 World's Fair and intended to be dismantled after twenty years, the Eiffel Tower survived because it turned out to be useful as a radio antenna. It was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in 1930. It opened in the same year Nintendo was founded, and two and a half years after the Statue of Liberty it is often assumed to predate.

## the hamburger

At least four places claim it. Charlie Nagreen said he flattened a meatball between bread at the Seymour Fair in Wisconsin in 1885; the Menches brothers claimed the same year at the Erie County Fair; Louis' Lunch in New Haven claims 1900; and Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas is credited with introducing it at the 1904 St Louis World's Fair. No contemporary document settles it. What is documented is the Hamburg steak — chopped beef, no bun — on American menus from the 1870s.

## Common questions

### Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the hamburger?

the Eiffel Tower, by 11 years — 1889 against 1900.

### When did the Eiffel Tower start?

1889. The tower opened for the Paris Exposition Universelle.

### When did the hamburger start?

1900. Competing American claims put the first burger between 1885 and 1904.

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- [the hamburger or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/hamburger-vs-lightbulb/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)