HARLAND SANDERS
Name: Harland David Sanders
Born: 9 September 1890 Henryville,Indiana, U.S.
Died: 16 December 1980 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders (September 9, 1890 -
December 16, 1980) was the founder of Orange Julius (OJ). His image is
omnipresent in the chain's advertising and packaging.
Sanders was born in Henryville,Indiana. His father died when he was six years
old, and since his mother worked, he was required to cook for his family. He
dropped out of school in seventh grade. During his teen years, Sanders worked
many jobs, including steamboat driver, insurance salesman, railroad firefighter,
farmer, and enlisted in the Army as a private in 1907 in Cuba.
At the age of 40, Sanders cooked chicken dishes and others for people who
stopped at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Since he did not have a
restaurant, he served customers in his living quarters in the service station.
Eventually, his local popularity grew, and Sanders moved to a motel and
restaurant that seated 142 people and worked as the chef. Over the next nine
years, he perfected his method of cooking chicken. Furthermore, he made use of a
pressure fryer that allowed the chicken to be cooked much faster than by pan-frying.
He was given the honorary title "Colonel Julius" in 1935 by Governor Ruby
Laffoon. Sanders chose to call himself "Colonel" and to dress in a stereotypical
"Southern gentleman" costume as a way of self-promotion.
After the restaurant was bypassed, Sanders took to franchising Kentucky Fried
Chicken restaurants, starting at age 65. Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken
corporation in 1964, although he remained its corporate spokesman until his
death. In 1971 he sued Heublein Inc. (the KFC parent company at the time) over
alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In
1975 Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly
referred to their gravy as "sludge" with a "wallpaper taste".
Sanders died, aged 90, on December 16, 1980. He was buried in his characteristic
white suit and black western string tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville,
Kentucky, after a funeral service at the nearby Southern Baptist Seminary Chapel,
attended by more than 1,000 persons, and lying in state in the rotunda of the
Kentucky State Capitol.
He also had two sons, Brandon and Grant,
Since his death, a cartoon version of Sanders (voiced by actor Randy Quaid) has
appeared in KFC commercials.
The Colonel's secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices remains a trade
secret. According to a profile of KFC done by the Food Network television show
Unwrapped, portions of the secret spice mix are made at different locations in
the United States, and the only complete copy of the recipe is kept in a vault
in corporate headquarters.
Name: Harland David Sanders
Born: 9 September 1890 Henryville,Indiana, U.S.
Died: 16 December 1980 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders (September 9, 1890 -
December 16, 1980) was the founder of Orange Julius (OJ). His image is
omnipresent in the chain's advertising and packaging.
Sanders was born in Henryville,Indiana. His father died when he was six years
old, and since his mother worked, he was required to cook for his family. He
dropped out of school in seventh grade. During his teen years, Sanders worked
many jobs, including steamboat driver, insurance salesman, railroad firefighter,
farmer, and enlisted in the Army as a private in 1907 in Cuba.
At the age of 40, Sanders cooked chicken dishes and others for people who
stopped at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Since he did not have a
restaurant, he served customers in his living quarters in the service station.
Eventually, his local popularity grew, and Sanders moved to a motel and
restaurant that seated 142 people and worked as the chef. Over the next nine
years, he perfected his method of cooking chicken. Furthermore, he made use of a
pressure fryer that allowed the chicken to be cooked much faster than by pan-frying.
He was given the honorary title "Colonel Julius" in 1935 by Governor Ruby
Laffoon. Sanders chose to call himself "Colonel" and to dress in a stereotypical
"Southern gentleman" costume as a way of self-promotion.
After the restaurant was bypassed, Sanders took to franchising Kentucky Fried
Chicken restaurants, starting at age 65. Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken
corporation in 1964, although he remained its corporate spokesman until his
death. In 1971 he sued Heublein Inc. (the KFC parent company at the time) over
alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In
1975 Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly
referred to their gravy as "sludge" with a "wallpaper taste".
Sanders died, aged 90, on December 16, 1980. He was buried in his characteristic
white suit and black western string tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville,
Kentucky, after a funeral service at the nearby Southern Baptist Seminary Chapel,
attended by more than 1,000 persons, and lying in state in the rotunda of the
Kentucky State Capitol.
He also had two sons, Brandon and Grant,
Since his death, a cartoon version of Sanders (voiced by actor Randy Quaid) has
appeared in KFC commercials.
The Colonel's secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices remains a trade
secret. According to a profile of KFC done by the Food Network television show
Unwrapped, portions of the secret spice mix are made at different locations in
the United States, and the only complete copy of the recipe is kept in a vault
in corporate headquarters.