About Me
My name is Harland Sanders, although most know me by my nickname, Colonel Sanders. I was born in Henryville, Indiana in 1890. My father died when I was seven years old.
My mother always worked, and I learned to cook on my own. I had to drop out of school in 7th grade to work to help support my family. I worked many jobs,including steamboat driver, insurance salesman, railroad worker, firefighter, even a sharecropper. Eventually I enlisted in the Army as a private in 1918. I spent my entire service in Havana chasing bikinis and living it up.
After retiring from the army, I worked odd jobs in Corbin, Kentucky until finally cooking fried chicken for people who stopped at a gas station I worked at. I didn't even have restaurant tables, and allowed people to eat their chicken in my apartment around back with their lovable chef. I have been married twice, once to Josephine King, and later to Claudia Price. I am the father of two sons, Brandon and Grant, and two daughters, Margaret and Mildred.
Eventually my chicken got so popular that I saved enough money to buy a motel and restaurant space that could seat 150 people. During this time I perfected both my secret finger-lickin good recipe of 11 herbs and spices and my "fast food" style of chicken frying, using pressure fryers instead of pan frying for faster service.
In 1935 I was awarded the title of Kentucky Colonel by a raving fan of my restaurant, then Governor of Kentucky Ruby Lafoon. This is how I got my nickname, Colonel Sanders. In 1955 I decided it was time to start building additional franchise locations for my Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. This began in Kentucky, and now there are KFC restaurants in more than 100 nations all over the world, spread across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and even parts of Africa, and Australia.
In my late 80s I was diagnosed with Leukemia. On December 16, 1980, at age 90, I passed away, leaving behind an incredible life and legacy as one of the biggest champions of the fast food industry, and a shining example of the American Dream.I was buried in my 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. It was attended by more than 1,000 people, and I lied in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol.
I never divulged my 11-spice and herb recipe for finger lickin' good chicken, and it is still a well protected secret by corporate KFC headquarters in Louisville.
