Robert O. Peterson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert O. Peterson
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| Born |
Robert Oscar Peterson
March 13, 1916 San Diego, California, US
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| Died | April 18, 1994 (aged 78) Point Loma, California, US
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| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Founder of Jack in the Box restaurant chain |
| Spouse(s) | Maureen O'Connor |
Robert Oscar Peterson (born March 13, 1916 – died April 18, 1994) was an American businessman. He started the famous Jack in the Box fast food chain. He helped make drive-through restaurants popular. He was also the first to use an intercom system at a drive-through window.
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Robert Peterson's Early Life
Robert grew up in San Diego, California. He finished high school at Hoover High in 1933. He went to San Diego State College. Later, he earned a degree in economics from UCLA. During World War II, he worked as a naval intelligence officer. This meant he gathered important information for the navy.
Family Life
Robert Peterson was married four times. His last marriage was in 1977 to Maureen O'Connor. She later became the first female mayor of San Diego. They stayed married until his death in 1994. He had four children from an earlier marriage. None of his children worked in the restaurant business.
Starting a Restaurant Business
Robert Peterson began his restaurant career in 1941. His first restaurant was a drive-in diner called "Topsy's." It was later renamed "Oscar's." At these drive-ins, workers called carhops brought food to customers in their cars. Over the next ten years, his company ran several "Topsy's" and "Oscar's" diners.
The First Jack in the Box
In 1951, Robert Peterson changed one of his "Oscar's" diners into the very first Jack in the Box. This new restaurant was special because it focused on drive-through service. It had a new invention: a two-way intercom system. This system let one car order food while another car was getting its food.
Other restaurants had drive-up windows before. But Jack in the Box was the first big chain to make drive-throughs their main way of serving customers. The idea was new to many people. So, the speaker, which had a clown on top, had a sign. It said, "Pull forward, Jack will speak to you!"
The Jack in the Box restaurant was designed to be a "modern food machine." A famous architect named Russell Forester designed it. He also designed Robert Peterson's home in Point Loma in 1965.
Growing the Chain
Robert Peterson built the Jack in the Box chain to more than 300 locations. In 1960, he changed his company's name to Foodmaker. He sold the company in 1967 to Ralston Purina. By this time, the "drive-through" idea had become very popular. It was used by many other fast food restaurants.
Robert Peterson's Later Years
After selling his company, Robert Peterson spent the last 30 years of his life helping others. He supported many good causes. He was a big supporter of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He helped fund their research for many years. In 1973, he gave them his large yacht, the Dolphin. Peterson Hall at the University of California, San Diego is named after him.
In 1984, he was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer. He fought the illness for ten years. Robert Peterson passed away in 1994 at the age of 78.
