McDonald’s restaurant was founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California.
They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona.
McDonald’s is the world’s largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of 2018.
Source: Wikipedia
McDonald’s sold its 100 millionth burger in 1958 and surpassed 400 million two years later. It hit 700 million burgers by 1962, and the billionth burger was served in 1963.
Johnny Carson joked that they finally had to buy a second pound of beef (or something similar), a joke he later apologized for.