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'{{Infobox person | name = Robert Oscar Peterson | image = https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/238/1075776_1503871908.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_date = March 13, 1916 | birth_place = [[San Diego, California]] | death_date = April 18, 1994 (aged 78) | death_place = San Diego, California | nationality = [[United States|American]] | other_names = | spouse = Former San Diego Mayor [[Maureen O'Connor (California politician)|Maureen O'Connor]] | known_for = Founder of [[Jack in the Box (restaurant)|Jack in the Box]] restaurant chain | occupation = }} '''Robert Oscar Peterson''' (March 13, 1916 – April 18, 1994) was an [[United States|American]] businessman and philanthropist. As the founder of the [[Jack in the Box (restaurant)|Jack in the Box]] restaurant chain, he popularized the [[drive-through]] [[fast food restaurant]] concept. He is credited with being the first to pair the drive-through window with an intercom system for greater efficiency.<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/504/000177970/ NNDB]</ref> == Personal life == He was a native [[San Diegan]] and graduated from [[Herbert Hoover High School (San Diego, California)|Hoover High School]] in 1933. He attended [[San Diego State University|San Diego State College]] and graduated from [[UCLA]] with a degree in economics.<ref name="U-T 1984">[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sandiego-sub/access/1232659571.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+20%2C+1984&author=Kay+Jarvis-Prokop&pub=The+Tribune&edition=&startpage=D.1&desc=Peterson%3A+From+fast+food+to+Gustaf+Anders San Diego Union-Tribune, June 20, 1984]</ref> He was a naval intelligence officer during [[World War II]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=p8lWe72_dgUC&pg=PA38&dq=%22robert+o.+peterson%22&lr=&ei=haDVS6j9F426NpPbnfEH&cd=44#v=onepage&q=%22robert%20o.%20peterson%22&f=false O’Connor, Colleen, Faces of San Diego, page 38]</ref> He was married four times, notably (in 1977) to [[Maureen O'Connor (California politician)|Maureen O'Connor]], who went on to become the first female mayor of [[San Diego]] from 1985 to 1992; this was his only marriage not to end in divorce.<ref name="LATimesObit">{{cite web | url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-04-20/news/mn-48222_1_robert-oscar-peterson | title=Robert O. Peterson, Founder of Jack in the Box Restaurants, Dies | publisher=Los Angeles Times | author=Tony Perry | date=April 20, 1994 | accessdate=April 26, 2010}}</ref> The former mayor was at his side when he died in 1994.<ref name="LATimesObit" /> He had four children by his previous marriage to Lorraine Bhalla, none of whom went into the restaurant business.<ref name="U-T 1984" /> == Restaurant career == Peterson entered the restaurant business in 1941 with a drive-in diner called "Topsy's" (later renamed "Oscar's"), located at 6270 [[El Cajon Boulevard]] in San Diego. This was a classic drive-in where food was served by [[carhop]]s to patrons in the parking lot. Over the next decade his company, the San Diego Commissary Company, operated several Topsy's and Oscar's restaurants throughout San Diego, including a flagship Oscar's at Midway Drive and Rosecrans Street in the [[Midway, San Diego, California|Midway]] area. In 1951, he converted the Oscar's on [[El Cajon Boulevard]] into the first Jack in the Box,<ref>[https://www.sandiegohistory.org/timeline/timeline3.htm San Diego Historical Society timeline]</ref> a drive-through with the innovation of a two-way intercom that allowed one car to place an order while another car was being served. Other restaurants had previously offered drive-up window service, but Jack in the Box was the first major chain to make drive-through windows the focus of its operation.<ref>Langdon, Philip, Orange Roofs, Golden Arches: The architecture of American chain restaurants, page 104, Knopf, 1986, {{ISBN|978-0-394-54401-4}}</ref> Since the concept was unfamiliar to most customers, the speaker (topped with the trademark clown) had a sign that announced "Pull forward, Jack will speak to you!" [[File:PetersonForesterHouse.JPG|Entrance to Peterson's home in Point Loma|right|thumb]] The Jack in the Box restaurant was conceived as a "modern food machine" and was designed by La Jolla master architect Russell Forester, who also designed Peterson’s landmark home in [[Point Loma, San Diego, California|Point Loma]] in 1965.<ref>[http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/1067/files/Peterson%20Residence.pdf California Department of Parks and Recreation]</ref> Peterson built the chain to over 300 locations. He renamed his company Foodmaker in 1960 and sold it in 1967 to [[Ralston Purina|Ralston-Purina]]. By that time, the "drive-thru" concept had become an industry standard.<ref name="LATimesObit" /> == Later life == He spent the final 30 years of his life in philanthropy and civic improvement. He was a consistent patron of the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]], sponsoring research for many years, and donating the 96-foot diesel yacht ''Dolphin'' to the institution in 1973.<ref>[http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=kt109nc2cj&chunk.id=d2_1_ch14&toc.id=pt01&brand=eschol;query=0 Scripps Institution of Oceanography]</ref> Peterson Hall at the [[University of California, San Diego]] is named after him.<ref>[https://facilities.ucsd.edu/NA/NamedBuildings/Building.htm?Bkey=423 UCSD Facilitieslink - Peterson Hall]</ref> In 1984, he was diagnosed with [[leukemia]]. He battled the disease for the next 10 years until his death in 1994 at the age of 78.<ref name="LATimesObit" /> == References == {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{Find a Grave|1075776}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Robert O.}} [[Category:1916 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:Businesspeople from San Diego]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Fast-food chain founders]] [[Category:Deaths from leukemia]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]] [[Category:First Ladies and Gentlemen of San Diego]] [[Category:Jack in the Box]]'