The White Castle hamburger chain was founded in Wichita, Kansas by Walter A. Anderson and E. W. Ingram. Anderson was an insurance executive, and together with Ingram, a cook, they started the company in 1921. They sold their steam fried hamburgers, 18 per pound of ground beef, cooked on a bed of onions, for a nickel .
White Castle is the oldest hamburger chain. White Castle sells about 500 million hamburgers a year.