The Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee who created the Big Mac nearly 50 years ago has died.

美国匹兹堡地区麦当劳加盟商，50年前发明麦当劳招牌汉堡包“巨无霸”的制造者去世。

Michael 'Jim' Delligatti was 98.

迈克尔·吉姆·德利加迪享年98岁。

McDonald's spokeswoman Kerry Ford confirmed that Delligatti died at home surrounded by his family on Monday night.

麦当劳发言人克里·福特确认，周一晚上，德利加迪在家人的陪伴下于家中辞世。

According to his son, Delligatti ate at least one 540-calorie Big Mac a week for decades.

据德利加迪儿子称，十几年来，他每周至少吃一个含有540卡路里的“巨无霸”汉堡包。

Delligatti's franchise was based in Uniontown when in 1967 he invented the chain's signature burger with two all-beef patties, 'special sauce,' lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun.

德利加迪的加盟店位于Uniontown小镇，1967年他发明了一种招牌汉堡包，将两块牛肉馅饼，‘特殊的酱料’、生菜、莴苣、奶酪和洋葱放在沾有芝麻的面包片上。

The Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's resisted the idea at first because its simple lineup of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries and shakes was selling well.

起初，美国伊利诺斯州奥克布鲁克麦当劳店对这种想法表示反对，因为他店内那些制作简单的产品包如牛肉汉堡、薯条和奶昔卖的很好。

But Delligatti wanted to offer a bigger burger and it went over so well it spread to the rest of Delligatti's 47 stores, then went national in 1968.

但是德利加迪希望为顾客提供一种更大的汉堡包，这种汉堡包销量非常好，马上传到德利加迪其它47家连锁店，1968年全国都能买到这种汉堡包。

"He was often asked why he named it the Big Mac, and he said because Big Mc sounded too funny,'' his son Michael Delligatti said.

吉姆·德利加迪的儿子说，“他经常被问到为什么起名‘巨无霸’，他说因为巨无霸听起来很滑稽。”

To Delligatti's delight, the product was 'an immediate success,' adding that the recipe has not really changed in the 40 years.

令德利加迪感到欣喜的是，产品一经上市就“马上取得成功”，他补充道，这份食谱40年没有变过。

When the burger turned 40, McDonald's estimated it was selling 550 million Big Macs a year, or roughly 17 every second. Delligatti received no payment or royalties for coming up with the burger, the company said.

在巨无霸诞生40年的时候，麦当劳估计，它每年的销量高达5.5亿个，大约每秒钟卖出17个。不过，麦当劳公司说，德利加迪没有为发明这种汉堡包得到过任何酬劳或专利。