Portal:Kentucky/Selected biography/11
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Colonel Sanders (September 9, 1890 – December 16, 1980), whose full name was Harland David Sanders, was the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). His image is omnipresent in the chain's advertising and packaging.
At the age of 40, Sanders cooked chicken dishes 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 "Kentucky Colonel" 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. Sanders sold his franchise in 1964, although he remained their corporate spokesman until his death.
