Kroc, Ray

Ray Kroc (1902–1984), born on 5 October 1902, grew up in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. During his early working years, Kroc engaged in a number of different jobs, including delivering Western Union messages, playing in a band, and other various occupations.

For seventeen years he sold paper cups. One of his customers was Earl Prince, the owner of the Prince Castle Ice Cream stores. He had invented the Multi-Mixer for making milk shakes. Unlike other blenders, this one had six spindles, which enabled it to make multiple milk shakes at the same time. This invention made it possible to speed up making and serving the shakes. Kroc believed he could sell them to every soda fountain, drugstore, and dairy bar in America. In 1937 Kroc quit his job and became the exclusive distributor for the Prince Castle Multi-Mixers. His business thrived until the 1950s when other companies began making similar products.