Where did the cowboy really come from? 10 icons with surprising histories
Image: RDNE Stock project
When we think of classic American culture, certain images come to mind: a lone cowboy riding into a desert sunset, the neon glow of a fast-food hamburger sign, or fireworks lighting up the sky on the Fourth of July. These symbols are deeply woven into the fabric of the American identity; however, many of the items, songs, and traditions we consider quintessentially American were actually borrowed, adapted, or completely invented by other cultures long before they crossed the Atlantic. Here is the surprising history behind ten "All-American" staples that actually have deep roots abroad.
1
Cowboys
The image of the rugged cowboy is arguably the ultimate symbol of the American West, popularized by folklore and Hollywood westerns. Yet, the entire lifestyle and wardrobe of the classic cowboy were inherited from Mexican cattle herders, known as vaqueros.
When Anglo-American settlers moved into Texas and California in the 19th century, they encountered Spanish and Mexican ranching methods that had existed for generations. The settlers adopted these traditions immediately. The iconic cowboy hat evolved from the wide-brimmed sombrero; "chaps" came directly from the protective chaparreras; and the lasso was an adaptation of the reata. Even the language of the West reveals its origin: terms like rodeo, lariat, mustang, and buckaroo (a phonetic corruption of vaquero) are all borrowed from Spanish.
2
Skyscrapers
The towering skyscrapers of New York and Chicago defined 20th-century urban modernity and American architectural dominance. While American engineers perfected the high-rise and invented the safety elevator, the structural engineering that made skyscrapers possible belongs to Great Britain.
Before a building can safely scale dozens of stories, it requires an internal skeleton to support its weight. The world’s first iron-framed building was actually the Ditherington Flax Mill in Shropshire, England, constructed in 1797. British engineers pioneered the use of internal cast iron columns and beams to make textile mills fireproof. This exact framework was later adapted and upgraded to steel by American architects to create the modern skyline.
3
Hamburgers
Nothing says America like a juicy hamburger. While the fast food industry turned the burger into a multi-billion-dollar business, the dish is firmly rooted in European maritime history.
The clue is right there in the name: the hamburger originates from the port city of Hamburg, Germany. In the 19th century, Hamburg was a major transatlantic departure point. German immigrants travelling to the United States brought along a popular regional delicacy called the "Hamburg steak", a seasoned, minced beef patty that was grilled or fried. Once in America, creative food vendors realized that placing this German steak between two slices of bread made it the perfect portable meal for busy industrial workers.
4
The rocket takeoff countdown
The dramatic "T-minus ten seconds and counting" ritual heard during NASA launches feels like a product of pure Cold War American aerospace engineering. However, counting backward to build suspense wasn’t invented by scientists, but by a German filmmaker.
Director Fritz Lang introduced the concept of the countdown in his 1929 silent science fiction masterpiece, Woman in the Moon . During the film’s rocket launch scene, Lang realized that counting forward felt anticlimactic. To maximize dramatic tension, he decided to count down to zero instead. Years later, when German rocket scientists immigrated to the U.S. to help build the American space program, they brought this technique into real-life mission control rooms.
5
The song "My Way"
Frank Sinatra’s legendary 1969 hit "My Way" is considered the ultimate anthem of the self-made American man. But before Ol’ Blue Eyes put his spin on it, the melody belonged to a melancholy French pop song.
The original tune, titled "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), was composed by Jacques Revaux and Gilles Thibaut, and released by French pop star Claude François in 1967. The original French lyrics tell a depressing story about the mundane, daily routine of a married couple whose love has completely died out. Singer-songwriter Paul Anka heard the track while vacationing in the South of France, bought the rights, and wrote entirely new lyrics tailored specifically to Sinatra’s persona.
6
American cheese
Although it is a staple of grilled sandwiches and burgers, the technology to create meltable processed American cheese was actually pioneered in the Alpine valleys of Switzerland.
In 1922, Swiss food scientists were looking for a way to stop regional cheeses like Emmentaler from spoiling during long export journeys to warm climates. They discovered that by shredding the cheese, heating it up, and adding sodium citrate, the dairy fats would emulsify. This prevented the cheese from separating into an oily mess when melted and allowed it to cool back down into a uniform, stable block. A few years later, American businessman James L. Kraft patented a similar process using cheddar cheese.
7
The Star Spangled Banner
The United States National Anthem tells the story of the 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry. While Francis Scott Key penned the patriotic lyrics, the music belongs to a popular British club song.
Key wrote his poem to fit the exact cadence of a melody titled "To Anacreon in Heaven". Composed by John Stafford Smith around 1780, this tune served as the official anthem for an exclusive gentlemen’s amateur music club in London.
8
Cars
Car culture is deeply embedded in American life. Yet, the invention of the automobile belongs across the Atlantic, to one of the fathers of Mercedes-Benz.
German engineer Karl Benz patented the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, widely recognized as the world's first modern gasoline-powered automobile. At the same time, French innovators like Panhard and Levassor pioneered the modern automotive layout, including placing the engine in the front and using a rear-wheel-drive system. Henry Ford undeniably revolutionized the world by using the assembly line to make cars affordable for the masses, but the machine itself was a European invention.
9
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is an irreplaceable childhood comfort food in the United States, present in millions of lunchboxes every day. While American innovators like Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and George Washington Carver popularized and refined it, they didn't invent it.
The practice of roasting peanuts and mashing them into a smooth paste dates back thousands of years to the ancient Aztec and Inca civilizations, who used it for nutritional and medicinal purposes. Furthermore, the first modern patent for peanut paste wasn't American at all; it was granted to a Canadian chemist named Marcellus Gilmore Edson in 1884.
10
Fireworks
No American Independence Day celebration is complete without a massive fireworks display. However, this tradition predates the founding of the United States by more than a millennium.
Fireworks were invented in ancient China, tracing back as far as the Han Dynasty around the 2nd century BCE. The technology eventually traveled west via the Silk Road, long before making its way to the New World.
