Harland David Sanders was born September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana. Young Harland was just 5 years old when his father died, which left his mother to care for Harland and his two younger siblings, Clarence and Catherine. While their mother was working, Harland often whipped up meals for his siblings, which many credit as sparking a lifelong interest in cooking.
A junior high drop-out, Sanders was not a wayward soul, but rather a hard worker who was determined to support his widowed mother and find success in life. He held several jobs after quitting school, and at age 16, he enlisted in the Army. A year later, he was honorably discharged, went back to work, and got married.
By the time he was 40 years old, Sanders was running a Kentucky service station at which he served road-worn travelers. He eventually moved his operation across the street into a restaurant space, and it was there that his famous fried chicken recipe took center stage. Due to the extreme popularity of his fried chicken, then-Governor Ruby Laffoon named him an honorary Kentucky colonel and the chicken icon “Colonel Sanders” was born.
Sanders began franchising his business in the early 1950s, and by 1971, there were more than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants around the world. At that time, Heublein Inc. acquired KFC Corporation for a whopping $285 million. It was most recently acquired by PepsiCo in 1986 for $840 million.
In Japan, KFC and Christmas go hand-in-hand. In 2018, KFC recorded a five-day sales record of $68 million from December 21-25.
Long after the sale of his company and as Colonel Sanders aged, he traveled the world as a company ambassador, always in his crisp, white suit with black bow tie. His likeness could be found in the way of wax figures and statues in places as far away as Japan, where KFC is the chosen meal to celebrate Christmas. (Huh?!)
Colonel Harland Sanders died in Louisville, KY, on December 16, 1980 after battling leukemia and eventually succumbing to pneumonia. He was 90 years old. Colonel Sanders is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.