{{Short description|American fast food company founders}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Richard and Maurice McDonald | occupation = Businessmen | known_for = Founding McDonald's | years_active = 1940–1998 | module = {{Infobox| decat = yes | child = yes | title = '''Richard McDonald''' | label1 = Birth Name | data1 = | label2 = Born | data2 = {{Birth date|1909|02|16}}<ref> [https://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-history/born-february-16/ legacy.com]</ref> <br/>Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. | label3 = Died | data3 = {{Death date and age|1998|07|14|1909|2|16}}<br />Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. }} | module2 = {{Infobox | decat = yes | child= yes | title = '''Maurice McDonald''' | label1 = Birth Name | data1 = | label2 = Born | data2 = {{Birth date|1902|11|26}}<ref> [https://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-history/born-november-26/ legacy.com]</ref> <br/>Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S. | label3 = Died | data3 = {{Death date and age|1971|12|11|1902|11|26}} <br />Palm Springs, California, U.S. }} }}
'''Richard James McDonald''' (February 16, 1909 – July 14, 1998) and '''Maurice James "Mac" McDonald''' (November 26, 1902 – December 11, 1971), known as the '''McDonald brothers''', were American entrepreneurs who founded the fast food company McDonald's.
The brothers opened the original McDonald's restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-05 |title=The Real McDonald’s: The San Bernardino Origins of a Fast Food Empire |url=https://www.pbssocal.org/food-living/the-real-mcdonalds-the-san-bernardino-origins-of-a-fast-food-empire |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=PBS SoCal |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Christopher |date=2015-05-15 |title=How McDonald's Beat Its Early Competition and Became an Icon of Fast Food |url=https://www.history.com/articles/how-mcdonalds-became-fast-food-giant |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref> where they created the Speedee Service System to produce their meals, a method that became the standard for the fast food industry. After hiring Ray Kroc as their franchise agent in 1954, they continued to run the company until they were bought out by Kroc in 1961.
==Early life== The McDonald brothers were born in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Irish Catholic parents Patrick James McDonald from Dingle and Margaret Anna Curran McDonald from Emlaghmore, who came to the United States as children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KL6J-7RC/maurice-james-mcdonald-1902-1971|title=Maurice J Mc Donald, "New Hampshire Birth Certificates - Birth certificate states birthplace of father and mother|accessdate= December 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/mcdonald-brothers-open-restaurant-nh-shoe-factories-close/ | title=When Dad Lost His Job, the McDonald Brothers Started a Fast-Food Empire | date=3 February 2017 }}</ref> Maurice was born in 1902, and Richard was born in 1909.<ref name="Franchise">{{Cite book |last=Chatelain |first=Marcia |year=2020 |chapter=Chapter One: Fast Food Civil Rights |title=Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America |location=New York City |publisher=Liveright Publishing |pages=25 |isbn=978-1-63149-394-2 }}</ref> In the 1920s, the family moved to California, where Patrick opened a food stand in Monrovia in 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://johnmuldoon.ie/2013/05/from-immigration-to-mega-wealth/|author=Muldoon, John P.|title=From Immigration to Mega-Wealth|date=May 28, 2013|accessdate=July 12, 2021|publisher=johnmuldoon.ie|archivedate=September 18, 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918024835/http://johnmuldoon.ie/2013/05/from-immigration-to-mega-wealth/}}</ref>
== Careers == The first restaurant the McDonald brothers opened in 1937 was in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Pillsbury|title=No Foreign Food: The American Diet In Time And Place|date=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780429967214|pages=181}}</ref> In the 1940s the McDonald brothers operated a successful drive-in restaurant, but found several factors were cutting into their profits. Some of the more expensive menu items, such as barbecue sandwiches, were rarely ordered, and they used actual dishes, which were constantly lost, stolen or broken, plus the reputation of drive-ins becoming seedy hangouts for teenagers was driving families away.
In 1948, the brothers fully redesigned and rebuilt their restaurant in San Bernardino to focus on a reduced menu consisting of their nine most profitable and cost-effective items: In addition to their 15-cent hamburger, the menu included a cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie.<ref name=OurHistory>{{cite web|url=https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-company/who-we-are/our-history.html|title=OurHistory|publisher=McDonald's|accessdate=April 26, 2021}}</ref> The restaurant was about a mile from route 66 at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, and eventually became a museum.<ref name="original"/> The first months of the revived restaurant were a struggle, as many customers expected carhops to serve them like other drive-in restaurants, rather than having to walk up to the restaurant's window to order. The brothers persisted, keeping their simple menu, aside from replacing the potato chips with french fries. The restaurant soon appealed to drivers on the go who could get a quick meal with no waiting and was also a way for an entire family to dine out inexpensively.
The McDonald brothers' restaurant was a success, and with the goal of making $1 million before they turned 50,<ref name="Gilpin 1998">{{cite news |last=Gilpin |first=Kenneth N. |date=July 16, 1998 |title=Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/business/richard-mcdonald-89-fast-food-revolutionary.html |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=June 5, 2017}}</ref> the brothers began franchising their restaurant system in 1953. The first franchise was a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, operated by Neil Fox.<ref name=OurHistory/>
McDonald's drew the attention of Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman for Prince Castle.<ref name="Snyder2010">{{cite book|author=Neil Snyder|title=Vision, Values, and Courage: Leadership for Quality Management|date=June 15, 2010|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-0252-4|pages=133}}</ref> After the brothers purchased eight of his Multi-Mixers for their San Bernardino, California restaurant, Kroc visited that restaurant in 1954.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers |url=https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-history.html|access-date=2021-09-12|publisher=McDonald's}}</ref> That year, the McDonald brothers hired Kroc as their franchise agent. Kroc took 1.9% of gross sales, of which the McDonald brothers got 0.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marketplace.org/2017/02/09/ray-kroc-mcdonalds-fast-food/|title=The true origin story behind McDonald's|author=Brancaccio, David|work=Marketplace|url-status=live|date=February 9, 2017|access-date=September 7, 2023|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230907140006/https://www.marketplace.org/2017/02/09/ray-kroc-mcdonalds-fast-food/}}</ref><ref>Gross, Daniel (October 1996) ''Forbes' Greatest Business Stories of All Time'' John Wiley & Sons {{ISBN|978-0-471-14314-7}}</ref>
The McDonald's brothers had resisted a large expansion and Kroc soon became frustrated with their desire to maintain only a small number of restaurants. The brothers also consistently told Kroc he could not make changes or improvements to things such as the original blueprint. Eventually, Kroc decided he wanted control of the company entirely; In 1961, Kroc purchased the company from the McDonald's brothers for $2,700,000 ({{Inflation|US|2700000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-5}}), calculated so as to ensure each brother received $1,000,000 ({{Inflation|US|1000000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) after taxes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197544|title=Ray Kroc: Burger Baron|date=October 9, 2008|website=Entrepreneur|language=en-US|access-date=May 29, 2019}}</ref>
At the closing, Kroc became annoyed that the brothers would not transfer the real estate and rights to the original San Bernardino location to him. The brothers had told Kroc they were giving the operation, property and all, to the founding employees. In his anger, Kroc later opened a new McDonald's restaurant near the original McDonald's, which had been renamed "The Big M" because the brothers had not retained the rights to the name. "The Big M" closed six years later.<ref>{{cite book|title=Grinding It Out|year=1977|first=R.|last=Kroc|page=123]|publisher=H. Regnery |isbn=9780809282593}}</ref> Richard McDonald reportedly said that he had no regrets over the situation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/business/richard-mcdonald-89-fast-food-revolutionary.html|title=Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary|last=Gilpin|first=Kenneth N.|newspaper=The New York Times|url-status=live|issn=0362-4331|date=July 16, 1998|access-date=July 25, 2023|archive-date=September 21, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210921134515/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/business/richard-mcdonald-89-fast-food-revolutionary.html}}</ref>
On November 30, 1984, Richard McDonald, the first cook behind the grill of a McDonald's, was served the ceremonial 50 billionth McDonald's hamburger by Ed Rensi, then-president of McDonald's USA, at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York City.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Anderson Heller, Susan|author2=Dunlap, David W. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/21/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-50-billion-and-still-cooking.html|title=50 Billion and Still Cooking|newspaper=The New York Times|page=B3|date=November 21, 1984|access-date=May 28, 2021}}</ref><ref name=HotelOnline>{{cite web|title=Restaurant Innovator Richard McDonald Dies at 89: Pioneered McDonald's, World's Largest Restaurant System|url=http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases1998_3rd/July98_DickMcDonald.html|author=Velasco, Alejandra Yáñez|publisher=Hotel Online|access-date=May 14, 2012|date=July 1998|archive-date=January 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119175950/http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PressReleases1998_3rd/July98_DickMcDonald.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.el-mundo.es/magazine/2004/244/1085657108.html|title=La reina de la cocina (rápida) cumple 100 años|date=May 30, 2004 |newspaper=El Mundo (Spain)|language=es|accessdate=May 28, 2021|archivedate=February 12, 2005|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212165825/http://www.el-mundo.es/magazine/2004/244/1085657108.html}}</ref>
==Death and legacy== Maurice died from heart failure<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mashed.com/147897/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-the-mcdonald-brothers/|author=Stice, Joel|publisher=Mashed|title=The Tragic Real-Life Story Of The McDonald Brothers|date=March 15, 2019|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=May 30, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530035245/https://www.mashed.com/147897/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-the-mcdonald-brothers/}}</ref> at his home in Palm Springs, California, on December 11, 1971, at the age of 69.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/14/archives/maurice-j-mcdonald-dies-at-69-hamburger-chains-cofounderi.html|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Maurice J. McDonald Dies at 69; Hamburger Chain's Co Founder|date=December 14, 1971|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=August 12, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812114532/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/14/archives/maurice-j-mcdonald-dies-at-69-hamburger-chains-cofounderi.html}}</ref>
Richard also died from heart failure in a nursing home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 14, 1998, at the age of 89.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/16/business/richard-mcdonald-89-fast-food-revolutionary.html|title=Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary|last=Gilpin|first=Kenneth N.|date=July 16, 1998|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 21, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His cremains were entombed in a niche at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Manchester.<ref name="Gilpin 1998"/><ref name=HotelOnline/><ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/132882.stm "Fast food supremo dies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131025919/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/132882.stm |date=2022-01-31 }} July 15, 1998. BBC News. Accessed January 6, 2007.</ref>
In the 2016 film ''The Founder'', a biopic about Kroc and his business relationship with both Maurice and Richard, Richard (Dick) McDonald is played by Nick Offerman,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nick-offermans-character-founder-based-real-historical-figure-180962147/|author=Eschner, Kat|title=Nick Offerman's Character in 'The Founder' Is Based on This Real Historical Figure|magazine=Smithsonian Magazine|date=February 16, 2017|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=February 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217062944/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nick-offermans-character-founder-based-real-historical-figure-180962147/}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/movies/the-founder-john-carroll-lynch-nick-offerman.html|author=Itzkoff, Dave|title='The Founder': Burgers, Fries and a Couple of Wiseguys|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 18, 2017|accessdate=May 26, 2021|archivedate=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118205809/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/movies/the-founder-john-carroll-lynch-nick-offerman.html}}</ref> and John Carroll Lynch portrays Maurice (Mac) McDonald.<ref name=NYTimes/> While the film achieved critical success with its compelling story, it has also been criticized for dramatizing and distorting many of the personal and business relationships between Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers, as well as fabricating many plot points such as the powdered milkshakes. The McDonald brothers in fact were quite pleased with the $2.7 million deal (worth approximately $28 million in 2024), and have gone on record saying so a few years after the deal, though they were displeased at the lack of recognition they received from the new McDonald's Corporation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lang |first1=Kevin |title=The Founder: History vs. Hollywood |url=https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/founder/ |website=History vs Hollywood |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fact-Checking The Founder |url=https://rayandjoan.com/fact-checking-the-founder/ |website=Ray & Joan |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sarah-Freedman |first1=Joanna |title=People can’t believe Netflix’s The Founder movie is the true backstory of McDonald’s |url=https://twistedfood.co.uk/articles/ray-kroc-the-founder-mcdonalds-movie-how-true-brothers |website=Twisted |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref> The backstory of the Golden Arches is also inaccurate in that it was not created by Richard McDonald, but by Stanley Clark Meston, an architect hired by the brothers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roach |first1=Dylan |title=The true story of how McDonald's became America's fast food king |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-history-timeline-2016-10 |website=Business Insider |access-date=9 April 2025}}</ref>
The site of the first McDonald's was purchased in 1998 by Albert Okura, founder of restaurant chain Juan Pollo, who moved his company's headquarters to the location and established an unofficial McDonald's museum on the site.<ref name="original">{{cite web|url=https://www.route66ca.org/original-mcdonalds-site-museum/ |title=Original McDonald's Site & Museum |work=California Route 66 Association |access-date=June 12, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612175154/https://www.route66ca.org/original-mcdonalds-site-museum/ |archive-date=June 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Farley |title=California's unofficial McDonald's museum is a fast food fever dream |url=https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/first-mcdonalds-unofficial-museum-18448365.php |work=sfgate.com |date=Oct 27, 2023}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Find a Grave|14303576|Maurice McDonald}} * {{Find a Grave|6634290|Richard McDonald}}
{{McDonald's|state=collapsed}} {{Portal bar|Biography|Business and economics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Richard and Maurice}} Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Brother duos Category:Business duos Category:Fast-food chain founders Category:McDonald's people Category:People from Manchester, New Hampshire