Biography of the founder of the KFC chain. The interesting fate of Colonel Sanders The life of Colonel Sanders

On May 7, 1931, the mountain town of Corbin (Kentucky, USA) was unbearably hot. Matt Stewart, a gas station owner, stood on a ladder painting a concrete wall. He paused for a minute when he heard the sound of an approaching car, which, apparently, was traveling at high speed.

He was driving along a northern road that led to a rural area known locally as "Hell's Half Acre." It was named so because bootleggers often organized drinking parties and shootouts here, which ended very disastrously. Stuart squinted, trying to see the approaching car in the dust. With his right hand, which was smeared with paint, he wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. He assumed that the driver must be angry, armed and planning to stop somewhere nearby.

Just in case, he prepared his pistol. The car actually stopped nearby, but there was not one, but three armed men in it. “Hey, you son of a bitch! – the driver shouted. “Are you doing this again?” A disgruntled car driver used the concrete wall to advertise his gas station in the city while his competitor, Matt Stewart, once again painted it over. Stewart jumped down the stairs, fired his pistol, and dove for cover behind a concrete wall.

One of the men fell to the ground dead. The driver grabbed his fallen comrade's weapon and returned fire. Bullets rained down on Stewart. Finally, he shouted, “Don't shoot, Sanders! You killed me." The gunfire on the dusty roadside died down. Stewart lay on the ground, bleeding. He was wounded in the shoulder and thigh. He will be lucky and survive - unlike the Shell Oil executive lying next to him with a bullet in his chest. This sad meeting could be considered unremarkable if not for the personality of the driver. The Sanders who fired the bullets at Matt Stewart was none other than Garland Sanders, the man who would become known throughout the world as Colonel Sanders.

He had dark hair and a clean-shaven face. No one knew then that his future image would one day appear on billboards, buildings and Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets. Unlike most others famous icons fast food, Colonel Sanders was real person, and his life story is not as clean and calm as the world-famous corporation makes it out to be.

Runaway from Home Garland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, in the farming community of Henryville, Indiana, where men wore a suit only twice in their lives - to their own wedding and funeral. In 1895, when Garland was only five years old, his father, a butcher shop owner, came down with a fever and died a few days later. Garland was raised by his mother, Margaret, a strict Christian who constantly told her children about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco, gambling and whistling on Sundays. At seven years old, Garland was forced to look after his younger siblings while his mother was at work.

When he was twelve years old, he dropped out of school because the mere sight of it made him sick. English alphabet and mathematical examples. Margaret remarried; her new husband did not like the children and often beat them for any minor reason. A year later, thirteen-year-old Garland packed his meager belongings into a small suitcase and left home to live his own life. War In 1906, young Garland Sanders took a job as a conductor in New Albany, Indiana. On the tram, he heard a conversation between two passengers who were discussing the military situation in Cuba. They were army recruiters.

They managed to convince an interested Sanders that military service– this is his calling. So he decided to go to Cuba on a ship full of people and donkeys. He reached his destination safely, except for seasickness. However, when the commander in Cuba learned that Sanders was only sixteen years old, he sent him back to the States. Thus ended the military career of the future colonel. Railroad Six years of education prevented Sanders from finding a decent job, so he got a job at the Southern Railroad, where he scraped ash from steam engines.

Soon, by observing locomotive drivers, he learned to throw coal and learned how to use fuel to achieve maximum efficiency of a steam engine. At the age of eighteen, he changed his occupation and began to replace drivers who did not show up for work. He also adopted from them extensive vocabulary curse words that he often used in everyday speech. Regardless, Sanders was obsessed with cleanliness. He loved to wear white overalls and cotton gloves of the same color to work. According to him, he returned home without a single stain on his clothes, despite the fact that he worked with coal all day.

It was during this time that Sanders met his beloved Josephine King. After meeting a little, they decided to get married. As Margaret Sanders, daughter of Garland and Josephine, later stated, her mother never wanted to have children. However, forty weeks after their wedding night, she gave birth to a girl. Pound of Meat Sanders worked for railway several years. His career as a machinist came to an end when he got into a fight with an engineer on a water tower. History is silent about the cause of the conflict, as well as whether young Sanders ruined his snow-white uniform with the blood of his opponent or not. When he was twenty-one years old, he decided to get an education and began to study the law in the office of a judge in Little Rock. Eventually, he found a job in the magistrate's court, where he dreamed of bringing justice to the poor and disadvantaged people of the region.

Sanders was especially proud of the times he negotiated relief for black train crash victims and ended the courts' practice of coercing defendants. However, his legal career came to an end when he got into a fight with his client in the courtroom over unpaid legal fees. Sanders spent the following years pursuing independent entrepreneurship.

He founded several businesses that met with varying degrees of success. He lost most of his money when he tried to sell internal systems acetylene based lighting. Who knew that electricity rural areas will appear earlier than expected?! However, he managed to make a nice fortune by founding a company that provided much-needed ferry service to Jeffersonville, Indiana. Sanders used the profits to create the Young Entrepreneurs Club in the city. One fine Saturday afternoon, the club announced that all city businesses would be closed due to a picnic in a local park.

Its members put up signs announcing the picnic the day before the event. A customer at a Jeffersonville barbershop was enjoying a hot shave when a sullen Sanders appeared at the door. “Even food and grocery stores are closed grocery stores“,” said Sanders, addressing the owner of the hairdressing salon. “So why are you working then?” “If I want to close my hairdresser, I will hang a sign on the door,” the hairdresser replied.

Bridge Incident

In the late 1920s, the Sanders family moved to Camp Nelson, Kentucky, where Garland became a salesman for the Michelin Tire Company. He did so well that he even became the proud owner of a new top-of-the-line Maxwell car. It was a real beauty, which had wheels with wooden spokes, coated with varnish, and a revolutionary six-cylinder engine under the hood.

One frosty November morning in 1926, Sanders was trying to tie a tow rope to his new Maxwell and the old Ford Model T1, which also belonged to his family. The Ford Model T1 behaved terribly, especially in the cold season. Sanders' eighteen-year-old son, Garland Jr., got behind the wheel of a Ford Model T1, and Sanders Sr. pulled him toward the bridge over Hickman Creek. It was a "suspension bridge" designed for horse-drawn carriages, but members of the Sanders family often crossed it in their cars without any problems.

But not this time. The bridge could not support the weight of the two cars, and when they were about halfway there, it broke. The new Maxwell and the old Ford Model T1 flew into a deep ravine. The younger Sanders escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, while the older Sanders received several bruises and lacerations. They arrived safely at home, where Josephine washed her husband's wounds with turpentine and bandaged them. Sanders survived, but now he had neither a job nor a car.

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Garland Sanders some time later found a job as manager of a Standard Oil gas station in the nearby town of Nicholasville. He earned two cents for every gallon of gasoline. He also started selling agricultural equipment for local residents on credit. However, in the late 1920s, a severe drought hit the region, destroying crops and bankrupting many farmers. Demand for gasoline decreased and customers were unable to meet their loan obligations. Sanders contacted contacts at Shell Oil and used his reputation to obtain a lease for a new location where demand for fuel was higher.

He was given a small plot in the city of Corbin (Kentucky). It was a rough area with no electricity, but it was located next to busy Route 25. Locals called it “Hell's Half Acre.” It was here that a shootout took place between Sanders and Matt Stewart, who, by the way, was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for the murder of Shell Oil executive Robert Gibson. Stewart died two years later in prison, in the arms of a sheriff who, according to rumors, was hired to avenge Gibson's death. One night, in the predawn hours, Sanders was awakened by the sound of gunfire in the street.

Two bootleggers started a showdown right in front of his house. He grabbed the gun and went out into the street wearing only his shorts. “Hey, you sons of bitches, drop your weapons on the ground!” Sanders shouted. The phrase “sons of bitches” sounded offensive, but the gun in the hands of the one who said it was more convincing. The men obeyed. When the sheriff arrived on the scene to pick up the suspects, he asked Sanders to accompany him to testify. As the car pulled away, Sanders' daughter Margaret ran out of the house screaming, “Father! You forgot your pants! .

Gas station in Corbin

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In the early 1930s, Sanders began to disappear from home frequently. Josephine and Margaret were suspicious of this. Last time When they saw him, he was climbing the mountain on a donkey in the pouring rain. In his hands he had an old lard bucket filled with scissors, bandages, antiseptic and rubber gloves. He was heading to a nearby Appalachian community where there were no roads, no electricity, no running water—in short, no modern conveniences.

From time to time Sanders brought food to the families living there, but what these people needed most was food. medical care. That day he was called because one of the residents of the settlement went into labor. Sanders had three children, so he had some experience with childbirth. However, this case was special. Garland, without explaining anything, burst into the house and grabbed his trusty gun, saying that he needed it as a “means of persuasion.” The baby was in the wrong position in the womb. For him to be born, an experienced doctor was needed. However, the man who took the Hippocratic oath turned out to be very drunk that day and refused to help.

The gun again turned out to be more convincing than words, so a few minutes later the sobered doctor was already riding on a donkey to the Appalachian settlement. He was able to manually reposition the fetus, allowing the birth to go smoothly. The parents of the newborn baby named him Garland. In 1936, Kentucky Governor Rabbi Laffoon bestowed upon Sanders the honorary title of "Colonel of Kentucky" for his services.

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According to Garland Sanders, fights and shootouts between bootleggers were commonplace for Corbin. However, it was here that Sanders began to gradually transform into a future celebrity of the fast food world. More than anything else, he loved to swear and experiment with cooking. For this reason, he decided to put a large oak table in the middle of the former warehouse and open a cafe near his gas station called Sanders’ Servistation and Café.

Hungry travelers were drawn to large advertisements that Sanders painted on the side of roadside sheds north and south of town. Sanders hired support staff. He paid them living wage and strictly forbade taking tips. In the kitchen, Garland and Josephine prepared dishes such as meat steak, homemade ham, potatoes with gravy, cereal and biscuits. There weren't many chicken dishes on the menu because they took a long time to cook. However, Sanders constantly experimented with them. It was during this time that Sanders met Claudia Price, a young divorcee who lived in Corbin.

At Garland's insistence, Josephine hired Claudia as her assistant. The woman was both a waitress and the mistress of the cafe owner, but this quiet scandal did not in any way affect the growing success of the establishment. In 1937, Sanders opened a small but luxurious hotel. He also became friends with renowned restaurant critic Duncan Hines, who wrote a glowing review of Sanders' establishments. For fun, Sanders sometimes let visitors listen to the donkey bray. They liked it because entertainment was scarce during the Great Depression. Sanders also kept a pet raven called Jim Crow.

Jim liked to pester hotel guests who were walking around the courtyard. He chased and pecked them until he received a coin from them. Other people watched this spectacle with great pleasure. Nobody knew what the raven did with the money he received. A few years later, this secret was revealed. When Sanders was renovating the hotel, he discovered a mountain of coins behind the old stairs. It was during this time that he met his new love, Bertoy. Bertha was his first pressure cooker that cooked instantly delicious dishes from vegetables. Sanders wondered if the technique could be improved to fry chicken quickly without sacrificing quality.

He added Bertha pressure relief valves to ensure nothing would happen while frying, and spent the next few years experimenting with various types marinades, vegetable oils, flour, seasonings and temperatures. By July 1940, Sanders had developed a system for frying chicken golden brown in just eight minutes, and also improved the seasoning of the dish, adding a new, eleventh ingredient to the traditional one. He also invented the incredible delicious sauce, which included pieces of breading left in the oil after frying chicken meat.

Secret City

One December evening in 1941, the Sanders family sat in Margaret's house, enjoying the music playing on the radio. The concert was suddenly interrupted by a special news broadcast. The announcer told listeners that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, which means war was declared on the United States. Sanders was then fifty-two years old, unfit for military service, but still able to do his little bit of good for his country.

He left the restaurant to Claudia and went to the city of Oak Ridge (Tennessee). Here the government was hastily constructing a government facility on what had once been farmland. Sanders met with his friend Joe Clemmons, the owner of a local cafeteria, and was appointed assistant manager. Sanders worked in Oak Ridge until the end of the war, but he had no idea what the thousands of men and women who called the city home were doing. They never discussed their work openly, even with Sanders. Only after some time does he learn that they were scientists and engineers who worked on the creation of uranium-235.

They spent years turning piles of metal into several kilograms of a special isotope. In 1945, it was used to create the “Little Boy” bomb, which was loaded onto the Enola Gay combat aircraft and dropped on Hiroshima. This was the first time nuclear weapons were used for military purposes.

Return of the Colonel

In 1952, Garland Sanders decided to visit Australia. Much changed in his life after the war. Garland divorced Josephine after 39 years of marriage and married Claudia. Governor Weatherbee reinstated him as a Kentucky Colonel for his culinary services, and this time Sanders decided to take full advantage of his title. He grew a gray beard, came up with a strange signature, began introducing himself as “Colonel Sanders” and wearing black suits with a bolo tie. He also thought that it would be a good idea for him to change his vocabulary to become a real gentleman.

This meant that he had to completely eliminate profanity from his speech. That is why he went to Australia, where he hoped that a large religious conference could cure his habit of swearing. First, however, he had to stop in Utah. Sixty-two-year-old Colonel Sanders stepped off the train in Salt Lake City and headed to the Do Drop Inn, a hamburger stand owned by Pete Harman. Sanders met Harman at a restaurateurs' meeting in Chicago. The colonel immediately liked the young man, since he was the only one present who refused alcohol.

Sanders asked Harman to take him to a local grocer, where he bought several frozen chicken carcasses and a lot of seasonings. He wanted to cook the chicken according to his "secret recipe", which he had perfected before the war, in the hope that Harman would be willing to sign a franchise agreement with him. Franchising was a new phenomenon at the time; Sanders wanted to convince well-known restaurateurs to add chicken and sauce prepared according to his recipe to the menu of their establishments. However, for access to the method of preparing Sanders' signature dish, they naturally had to pay a certain amount.

The Colonel cooked chicken in Harman's kitchen in a borrowed pressure cooker. Fried chicken was not a common dish in those days, so the Do Drop cooks were wary of it. They looked at Sanders' chicken as if it were a pile of seasoned dinosaur descendants. They tried it, but were not particularly delighted. Colonel Sanders took the train back to San Francisco, where he flew to Australia. . In 1951, Sanders decided to run for senator in Kentucky, but was narrowly defeated.

Two weeks later, Claudia met her husband in San Francisco, and Sanders decided that she should definitely see Harman's new establishment. They got off the train in Salt Lake City and headed to the Do Drop, where they saw a huge sign that read "Kentucky Fried Chicken - Something New, Something Different." other"). "Damn it!" - said Sanders. The trip to Australia did not help him.

In all likelihood, Pete Harman recognized the eleventh ingredient that Colonel Sanders purchased from the grocer and thoroughly studied the process of frying chicken in a pressure cooker. The name "Kentucky Fried Chicken" came from the person who painted the sign. He suggested it when Harman was thinking about what to call the Colonel's dish. After Sapders' unexpected return, Harman decided to formally negotiate a franchise with him. The Colonel, in turn, laid claim to the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken."

They sealed the deal with a handshake. Soon Harman invented the notorious “bucket” and opened several more establishments. Five years later, his annual income had increased fivefold.

Road

In 1956, US President Dwight Eisenhower signed the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways Act, allocating $25 billion to build 40,000 miles of roads. It was the largest public works project in American history. Sanders' hotel and restaurant was struggling to stay afloat after a key Route 25 intersection was moved to another location.

However, the colonel realized the seriousness of the situation only after data about new roads were published in the local newspaper. According to this information, Route 25 was supposed to replace Interstate 75, which was going to be built seven miles from the city. Sanders was forced to sell for not a large amount something that took years to build. At sixty-six years old, he returned to the beginning of his journey. He received $105 a month social assistance, as well as a small income from the franchise.

Finding himself in this position, Sanders decided to get serious about franchising. He would drive into a city in his Oldsmobile, park it on the outskirts and spend the night in the back seat. He took with him everything he needed to demonstrate the process of preparing his signature dish - a refrigerator with chicken carcasses, flour, a newly patented pressure cooker, seasonings, cooking oil and fire extinguishers. First, he fried chicken for restaurant employees, and if they liked the dish, he offered it to visitors to try. He walked around the restaurant in a snow-white suit, with a silver beard, a bolo tie and a cane in his hands, and asked the guests whether they liked the meal or not.

One of the restaurants that decided to sign a franchise agreement with Sanders was The Hobby House in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Colonel became friends with his chef, Dave Thomas. The seasoned veteran took young Thomas under his wing and shared his wise counsel. Subsequently, Thomas would become the manager of several successful Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises, and even later create his own chain of fast food restaurants called Wendy’s.

Snack bar

One day, Sanders and Claudia decided to have breakfast at the same diner. When the waitress brought them badly fried eggs, the Colonel said, “Miss, I’m not drunk enough to eat.” raw eggs. I ask you to bring me a normal dish." “Hmm, you’re right,” the establishment worker replied, “I’ll take them back to the kitchen.” A few minutes later she returned with a plate in her hands. The scrambled eggs looked more dignified, however, according to the colonel, it was physically impossible to bring the eggs to readiness given the passage of time.

He turned the scrambled eggs over, and his suspicions were confirmed: no one had finished cooking them. The cook was sitting in the kitchen smoking a cigarette when the double doors swung open and a man appeared in front of him, dressed in a very strange way. He had a plate of breakfast in his hands. “You son of a bitch,” said the uninvited guest. “Have you decided that you are the smartest here?” “First of all, I’m not a son of a bitch,” said the offended cook, getting up from the table. “Secondly, get out of my kitchen.” “Of course I’ll leave, but before that I’ll do something,” Sanders replied.

He took a scrambled egg from his plate and threw it at the object of his contempt with the words: “Hold your eggs!” The cook, wearing a uniform stained with egg yolk, rushed at Sanders with a knife. The Colonel was forced to run into the dining room and grab a stool for self-defense. He blurted out a litany of vulgarities concerning supernatural deities, bodily fluids, reproduction, temperament, and the marital status of the attacker's parents, before apologizing to the frightened visitors.

The cook eventually gave up and returned to the kitchen. Sanders walked up to the table where Claudia was waiting for him. They decided that they should probably have breakfast elsewhere.

Erysipelas

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sanders' income from franchise agreements began to increase. Pete Harman became a successful entrepreneur, who by that time had opened several more establishments in various cities. Colonel Sanders' company also launched a number of innovative cafes that lacked a traditional dining area. The food was packaged in boxes and buckets, so customers could dine at home if they wished. This concept has become very popular over time.

The Colonel himself began visiting local radio stations to tell his story, and also appeared on television shows from time to time. His face and bolo tie appeared on food packages, and people began to recognize him more and more on the streets. “I was against the use of my photographs,” Sanders said. “I always called my face a mug.” I asked to do a drawing for an advertisement, and when I saw it on my food boxes, I almost fainted.” By 1962, there were hundreds of restaurants across North America that paid the seventy-two-year-old Sanders money under a franchise agreement. Most of these deals were sealed with a handshake and a word of honor.

There were eventually so many franchise applicants that Sanders could no longer meet with them in person. Instead, he invited them to his estate in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

City Slicker

In October 1963, a twenty-nine-year-old lawyer named John Brown, Jr. decided that Colonel Sanders should sell him his profitable corporation, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Incorporated. Brown began working with Sanders from the founding of the company, which initially brought in only $300,000 a year and had seventeen employees. The Colonel was not a fan of paid advertising, but Brown advocated an aggressive sales policy.

He convinced Sanders to meet him for dinner with Jack Massey, a Nashville businessman. “Colonel,” said Massey, “you are already seventy-four years old. You've come up with a great product in Kentucky Fried Chicken. You worked tirelessly, but now it’s time for you to rest.” The Colonel did not know how to rest and did not like it. According to him, he rejected the offer of the “city slicker”, probably using a huge amount of profanity for this purpose.

But the couple was restless. Brown and Massey were rejected every time, but apparently decided to starve Sanders out and use all sorts of horror stories. They told him that the taxes would be astronomical if he died as the sole owner of the company. Thus, he will disinherit his daughters. Moreover, they convinced Sanders that if he decided to sell the franchise as planned, his company would certainly go bankrupt.

In general, they told him a lot of things. Brown and Massey convinced Sanders to meet with Pete Harman and the other franchisees to discuss the possibility of selling the company. To Sanders' surprise, they recommended that he sell Kentucky Fried Chicken. Most likely, this was due to the fact that Brown and Massey offered each of them 25 thousand shares of the company, as well as a seat on the board of directors. At a meeting that lasted until two o'clock in the morning, Sanders finally decided to sell his brainchild for two million dollars, but on the condition that he, as a goodwill ambassador, would remain working for the company as a quality controller and would be paid for it annual salary in the amount of 40 thousand.

The agreement did not apply to several regions that Sanders had already promised to his friends and relatives, including Canada, which he wanted to keep for himself. Later, he wanted to purchase part of the company's shares as part of the deal, but the buyers refused him due to high taxes. He decided to trust them. In the end, Sanders signed the purchase and sale agreement, received the first part of the money in the amount of $500,000 from Massey, and entrusted his life's work to the city swindlers.

Sanders did not transfer the company's shares until he received all two million. However, he only calmed down completely after the new owners of the company assured him that they would not compromise when it came to the quality of the business or products.

Ambassador Sanders

And the compromises at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Inc. started walking almost immediately. Massey and Brown bought out most of the existing franchises and ordered the remaining owners to remove their own menu items, rename their restaurants "Kentucky Fried Chicken", update their décor with branding, and use "Colonel's mug" signs and packaging. The new advertising campaign was truly aggressive and financially successful.

The colonel took part in the filming of several commercials and talk shows. “If you see a picture of my face anywhere, know that you will be well fed here,” Sanders said. “At least the chicken will definitely be good!” The Colonel did not like the changes taking place within the company, but he was just a goodwill ambassador, so he could not do anything. Although Canada remained Sanders' territory according to the sales agreement, the new corporation's lawyers soon discovered a loophole in which they could legally sell the chicken to the Canadian market. When the executives of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Inc. Later they came to Sanders and asked him to transfer the pledged shares to them so that the company could become public, but he refused. However, when they renegotiated the sales agreement to close the Canadian loophole, he had to agree.

Sanders continued to spread goodwill on television, but he did so through gritted teeth. Jack Massey, an investor who controlled 60% of the company's shares, ordered the headquarters to be moved from Colonel Sanders' vast estate in Shelbyville to a new building in Tennessee. “Why the hell isn’t this Tennessee Fried Chicken?!” – a dissatisfied Sanders was indignant when he learned of Massie’s decision. “What a slippery, nasty son of a bitch!”

Drunkards and scoundrels

In the early 1970s, Colonel Sanders learned that Kentucky Fried Chicken and its 3,500+ franchises had been acquired for $285 million by Heublein Inc., a company that became famous for selling Smirnoff vodka.

As someone who had been anti-alcohol all his life, the Colonel found this a terrible insult. After the sale was completed, the corporation was divided among the new millionaires. Colonel Sanders was not among them. When the owners' huge, insatiable bellies began to growl, the cooks and chemists working for the company were tasked with finding ways to reduce the costs associated with Sanders' secret recipe. Cheaper ingredients in smaller quantities could save millions of dollars. Preparing the sauce for chicken required a lot of effort and money, so they decided to replace it with a powdered alternative.

Colonel Sanders was not aware of these changes, but he received a lot of letters from fans who bombarded him with questions about why he kept changing his recipes. Meanwhile, there was growing concern among Heublein executives over a new “tasty” offering from rival Church's Chicken. Its owners decided to add crispy-skinned chicken to the menu and position it as a dish prepared according to original recipe Sanders.

The Colonel, of course, did not like this idea. However, the new owners of his “name and appearance” had a different opinion. They decided to greenlight the idea of ​​putting the Colonel's face on boxes called Colonel Sanders Super Crispy Chicken. In an attempt to restore his reputation as a chef, Garland decided to open a restaurant in his home, The Colonel's Lady. Among other things, his menu included fried chicken, but it is unclear whether it was prepared according to that very “secret recipe” or not. According to Sanders' daughter Margaret, legal proceedings began after her father opened a new business.

The colonel decided to sue “drunks and scoundrels” for using his image to promote products to which he had nothing to do. "I'm not particularly proud to have my name associated with some of my restaurants," he said during an interview with the Milwaukee Journal. Everyone thinks I'm the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken. But they don’t know that completely different people are now behind the company […] I just want to understand what part of my body and soul they own.” Ultimately, Sanders and Heublein settled the dispute out of court. Heublein paid the Colonel one million dollars and agreed not to interfere with his new venture. Sanders, in turn, agreed to change the name of his restaurant to Claudia Sanders Dinner House. By the way, it still works.

Colonel Sanders and Alice Cooper

Colonel Sanders-san

When Western expats looked to Japan for a replacement for the traditional holiday turkey, all they could find was chicken. Upon learning of this, Kentucky Fried Chicken's marketing department launched a national advertising campaign called "Kentucky for Christmas." The proposal was of interest not only to foreigners, but also to the Japanese themselves. The tradition of coming to Kentucky for Christmas continues to this day.

In the 1970s, Colonel Sanders traveled to Japan several times to promote hundreds of Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. Wherever he went, he ran into his plastic counterpart, who extended his arms in a greeting pose. One such statue was famously thrown into the Dotonbori River by rowdy fans when the Hanshin Tigers baseball team won the Japanese championship in 1985. In subsequent years she was less fortunate. According to local legend, it was the "Colonel's Curse", a punishment for desecrating Sanders' image. It was believed that the Hanshin Tigers would continue to lose until the Sanders statue was taken out of the river and put back in its original place.

Libel lawsuit

As Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises spread around the world, eighty-six-year-old Colonel Sanders was forced to fly to various parts of the globe for grand openings and other events. He liked to make surprise visits to chain restaurants to check quality. If the chicken was cooked in the most ordinary way, and the sauce was bad, or the cleanliness of the premises was not up to standard, then harsh criticism fell on the local management.

One day in 1976, staff at a franchise in Bowling Green, Kentucky, waited anxiously for the Colonel to taste the sauce and give his verdict. “How can you serve this damn slop with straw?!” - he shouted. He subsequently explained to the Courier-Journal: “God, this sauce is just terrible. They prepare it from tap water, to which they add flour and starch. Yes, this is pure wallpaper glue!” A Bowling Green franchise is suing Sanders, the man whose face graced their establishment's sign, for defamation.

The court, in turn, ruled that the colonel was condemning Kentucky Fried Chicken in general, and not their restaurant in particular. The owners of Heublein could have sued Sanders or even fired him, but customers still responded positively to his advertising and appearance, so they decided not to touch it.

Limited time

In April 1979, Colonel Sanders traveled to Japan to take part in another promotional tour. He visited hundreds of restaurants, where he posed for photographs with thousands of his fans. Returning home, he felt incredibly tired. Weeks passed and his condition did not improve.

After some time, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Sanders spent the next few months in the hospital. He knew he was going to die soon, so he asked that all franchise locations be open on the day he died. People could not be deprived of chicken. In the last years of his life, Colonel Sanders became interested in religion, and one day he asked a reverend if God could help him get rid of foul language. “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and it will be done for you,” the priest answered him with words from the Bible. And the colonel prayed. He said he then felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his shoulders. Garland Sanders died on December 16, 1980 at the age of 90.

His coffin was displayed in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol, where everyone could say goodbye to the deceased. Sanders' daughter Margaret wrote a book about her upbringing called The Colonel's Secret: Eleven Herbs and a Spicy Daughter. In it, she talked about how she was her father’s favorite. Margaret also takes credit for key innovations that led to the success of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Moreover, the book includes interesting details about the colonel's sex life, including a funny story that happened on the day Margaret was conceived.

Today, Kentucky Fried Chicken (short to KFC) is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, which moved its headquarters back to Kentucky many years ago. KFC is today considered the second largest fast food restaurant chain in the world. The results of an independent laboratory study showed that modern KFC restaurants use salt, pepper, sugar and monosodium glutamate as seasoning, but the owners of the corporation claim the opposite.

Sanders has always insisted that the chicken be fried on vegetable oil, however, in the 1990s, the company switched to cheaper analogues - soybean and palm oils. One can only imagine how Garland Sanders would react to the continued use of his name and image by the owners of modern KFC restaurants. Surely he would have said something about supernatural deities, bodily secretions, reproduction, temperaments and the marital status of the parents of the current company leaders, sued them or attacked them with his fists to once and for all settle the question of which part of his body and soul they own.

On March 10, 2009, workers who were constructing an embankment near the Dotonbori River in Osaka (Japan) stumbled upon a strange object in the wet soil. It was a statue of Colonel Sanders without right hand. The missing part was subsequently found not far from the place where the statue itself lay. The Japanese authorities decided to restore it and return it to its rightful place, thereby lifting the great “Curse of the Colonel.”

Colonel Sanders (real name Garland David) is the famous founder of the KFS fast food restaurant chain. The signature recipe of these establishments was pieces of fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a special mixture of spices and aromatic herbs. Sanders is still featured on all restaurants and branded packaging of the company. In fact, Garland was never an officer. He received the title “Colonel” from the state governor for outstanding public services. In this article we will present his short biography.

Childhood

Many customers of KFS restaurants do not even know what year Colonel Sanders was born. We'll fix it now. Garland Sanders was born in Henryville in 1890. The boy's father worked as a helper for local farmers. This brought the family a small income and allowed the mother to stay at home with the children. But the boy's father died suddenly when he was six years old. To feed the children, the mother went to work, and the future Colonel Sanders sat at home all day and looked after his sister and brother. This life allowed the boy to discover his talent for cooking. Within months, Garland was masterfully preparing several of the family's most popular dishes. Of course, the boy had no time to study, and had to attend school in fits and starts.

First job

At the age of 10 he got a job on a farm. He was paid only $2 a month. A couple of years later, his mother remarried and sent the boy to the neighboring town of Greenwood. There he returned to the farm. At 14, Garland finally dropped out of school. That is, his total educational experience was only 6 classes.

Finding yourself

Until the age of 15, the future Colonel Sanders led a semi-vagrant life, changing places of residence and activities. And then Garland began working as a tram conductor. At the age of 16, the young man decided to join the army. He ended up in Cuba, which was actually a US colony at that time. Garland served there for six months and escaped, subsequently getting a job as a blacksmith's assistant. Due to low wages, the young man decided to change his profession and become a fireman. Sanders stayed in this position longer. Garland's life began to improve, and he even married his girlfriend Claudia. But after the couple had a child, Sanders was unexpectedly fired. His wife loved Garland very much and was already accustomed to his search for himself.

At one time, the future owner of KFS tried to engage in mental work - he enrolled in correspondence legal courses for further work in court. After a few months, he became bored with this activity too. Until the age of 40, he tried many professions: car mechanic, tire salesman, ferry captain, loader, insurance agent, etc.

Life begins at 40

So, unnoticed by himself, Garland began to approach his fifth decade. He celebrated his 40th birthday in deep depression. All his youth was gone, but Sanders had no permanent job, nor your home. One day he was listening to the radio humorous performance Will Rogers. And one of the comedian’s phrases made a deep impression on Garland and turned his life upside down. It sounded like this: “Life begins only at the age of forty.” We can say that from that moment the story of Colonel Sanders begins. From now on, Garland decided to work exclusively for himself.

Auto repair shop and snack bar

Small savings allowed Sanders to open his own auto repair shop. He very well chose a place next to Interstate 25, which connected Florida with the northern states. This ensured a large client flow. The future Colonel Sanders lived with his family right there, next to the auto repair shop.

Over time, Garland began offering food to road-weary clients. He loved to cook and did it in his home kitchen, and placed visitors in a separate room. There was only one table and six chairs. The menu mainly consisted of chicken, which Sanders did best. A year later, Garland had regular customers, and he noticed that the lion's share of income was generated by the eatery, not the auto repair shop. It was decided to give the mini-establishment a name. Above the entrance, Sanders hung a sign that read, "Kentucky Fried Chicken Special Recipe." He also came up with a technical innovation. Many of the diner's customers were often in a hurry, and half an hour to fry a chicken seemed like a long time to Garland. The solution was found quickly. Sanders attended a promotional event for newly introduced pressure cookers, which cook food under pressure. He bought himself one of the models and learned how to cook juicy chicken in just 15 minutes. A pressure cooker and spices were the secret to cooking Kentucky chickens.

Success

For the first time in his life, Garland was pleased with his own work. Firstly, he was paid for his hobby, and secondly, no one could fire him. The fame of Kentucky chickens quickly spread. By the mid-1930s, everyone who visited Sanders's diner perceived them as the "national" dish of Kentucky. Perhaps it was major success Garland to introduce his product into the public consciousness. Many people did not understand how a person with a six-year education and incomplete law courses managed to achieve this.

Receiving a title

In 1935, Robie Lafoon (Governor of Kentucky) accepted Garland as a member of the honorary “Order of Kentucky Colonels” with the following wording: “For his contribution to the development of the field of roadside food.” The received rank of colonel fueled Sanders' hidden vanity. He decided to build a restaurant and motel near the auto repair shop.

New restaurant

The opening took place in 1937. KFC founder Colonel Sanders appeared before the guests in a white suit with a black bow tie. The look was completed with a wedge beard and gray hair.

This character was a huge success with the public. Now Garland always wore only a white suit. Clients were lining up. The number of chickens sold could be determined by how much seasoning was required for them. Sanders mixed it like cement in the cafe's back room. It could take several bags a day.

Those years were golden for Garland. Any problems only invigorated me and forced me to move forward. In 1939, an unpleasant event occurred, which Colonel Sanders witnessed. KFC was completely burned down. But Garland rebuilt it in the shortest possible time. That same year, Duncan Hines (food critic) mentioned his establishment in his guidebook, calling the Colonel's chickens a special attraction in Kentucky.

Loss of business

The years flew by unnoticed in pleasant troubles, and Sanders was already thinking about a quiet old age, but fate gave him an unpleasant surprise. At the beginning of 1950, Highway 75 was completed to bypass Federal Highway 25. The client flow dried up overnight. In 1952, Garland no longer had enough money to maintain KFS. Colonel Sanders sold it at auction to pay off his creditors. At 62, he lost everything he had: money, home and job. The only thing Garland could count on was a $105 pension.

New case

But Colonel Sanders did not want to live as a poor pensioner and came up with a new business. He began visiting nearby restaurants and cafes, inviting them to use his signature seasoning. For this they had to pay him 5 cents per chicken. Very few agreed. However, by the end of the 1950s, Garland had already collaborated with 200 eateries. By 1964, the number of franchises had increased to 600, and Sanders received an offer to sell the business. The buyers were a group of investors who paid $2 million for KFS.

Recent years

At the age of 84, Colonel Sanders, whose biography was described above, published a book entitled “Life Diligently Licks Its Hands.” In it he fully described his life path. Having fulfilled this sacred “duty” to society, he retired, and until his death he indulged in harmless pleasures like playing golf. The only thing that upset Garland was the change in the taste of Kentucky chickens after he left KFS. In his interviews, he often stated: “They are too carried away with commerce and cook chicken haphazardly.” Sanders died in 1980 from leukemia. The colonel was 90 years old.

Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders (September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980) - founder of the fast food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken(Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC).

Colonel Sanders was the first to turn chicken frying into a multimillion-dollar business in 1952. His signature recipe is pieces of fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. His portrait is traditionally depicted on all restaurants of his network and on branded packaging. Rank of "Colonel" is an honorary title awarded annually by the governor of a state for outstanding service in public life state.

So, ready to hear his difficult life story? Let's go:

Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890 in the small town of Henryville in American state Indiana. Harland's dad earned his living by doing auxiliary work for local farmers. He earned little, but his mother could afford to look after the children. But when Sanders turned five years old father died suddenly. To feed the children, the mother had to go to work, and little Harland stayed at home all day in charge with his younger brother and sister.

This life revealed his real talent for cooking. In just a few months, Sanders learned to cook all the family's popular dishes. There was no question of studying in such a situation. Harland had no time to attend school regularly, and no money for college. At 10 years old he got a job as a worker on a nearby farm with a monthly salary of $2. Two years later, his mother remarried, and Harland's stepfather sent him to work on a farm away from home, because... I didn’t particularly want to be involved in raising other people’s children.

IN 14 years old Sanders dropped out of school completely. In total, he studied there for six classes.

Having given up at the age of 15 agriculture, He got a job as a tram conductor.

At 16 years old, he enlisted in the American army and went to serve as a private in Cuba. There our hero was engaged in shoveling horse manure in the army, and later got a job blacksmith's assistant. Then he worked as a washer for rail rolling stock at the local railway, and later as a fireman in the fire department. Everything went so well there that Harland even plucked up the courage to propose to his beloved Josephine (first wife), which accepted this proposal.

Josephine did not want children, but 19-year-old Sanders was assertive: according to the official version, 9 months after their wedding night the couple had their first child, a girl, Margaret. Two years later, Harland Jr. was born, and seven years later Mildred was born.

After the birth of his first child, Sanders was fired. However, his wife loved Harland enough to heroically endure his constant rushing from one job to another.

At one time, Sanders even decided to engage in mental work - he enrolled in correspondence law courses and got a job practicing in court. Soon the lawyer's career ended due to the fact that during the trial he got into a fight with his client. The Bar Association stripped him of his license.

After this and until the age of 40, Harland tried other occupations: insurance agent, miner, furniture mover, farmer, ferry captain, salesman car tires and a car mechanic.

Mine He celebrated his 40th birthday in deep depression: his youth passed, and somehow it just happened that he didn’t have his own home, or even a permanent job. At that moment, he heard on the radio a speech by the then famous comedian Will Rogers, who said in his humoresque that “life begins only at the age of forty.” Harland later said that “That radio program changed my life”. From now on, he decided to work only for himself, since he had small savings.

In 1930, in the city of Corbin, Kentucky, Sanders opened his own auto repair shop. He chose the place not by chance: his enterprise was located right on the side of Federal Highway 25, connecting the Northern states with Florida. This provided him with a constant flow of clients. Harland and his family lived right there, in several living rooms at the auto repair shop.

Things slowly got going, and soon Sanders decided to offer the road-weary visitors some food, especially he loved to cook. He prepared the food himself in his home kitchen, and the room for clients could only accommodate one dining table and six chairs. The basis of the modest menu was fried chicken, which Harland was especially successful at. Over the next nine years, he developed and perfected his "secret recipe" for pressure-frying chicken, which cooks chicken faster than in a frying pan.

In 1935 Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon accepted him as a member of the honorary "Order of Kentucky Colonels" with the wording "for his contribution to the development of roadside public catering."

With the money he saved, Sanders began building a motel and restaurant with 142 seats near his auto repair shop. The establishment looked very much like a neat German farmstead.

The opening took place in 1937 under the sign of Sanders Court & Cafe (Sanders Motel and Cafe). Sanders appeared in front of visitors in a luxurious white suit with a black bow tie.

There was no end to visitors now. When in 1939 the establishment burned down, Harland rebuilt it in a couple of months.

But soon life began to crack again— the construction of a new highway was completed, onto which the entire stream that had previously passed by Harland’s auto repair shop was driven away.

It would seem like a failure again, his age is no longer young - 62 years old, Harland has almost given up.

And then came to his aid... fried chicken! Yes, that’s right, he tensed up, packed his suitcase and went to drive around to nearby restaurants with a single phrase: “I can cook fried chicken better than you.”

He was refused again and again, an excellent cook in his advanced years was suspiciously examined from head to toe and was often not even allowed on the threshold. Let's mentally put ourselves in the shoes of a restaurant owner. You have a successful business, and then one fine sunny day a rusty wreck drives up to your establishment, from which some strange old man comes out and invites you to first buy a chicken recipe from him, and then pay him money every month. Naturally, you ask him:

– Perhaps you are a famous chef?
“No, I’m not a cook,” the strange grandfather will answer.
- Oh, I see, you - owner of a chain of successful restaurants, and are you expanding it?
– I don’t have restaurants. There was one, but I went broke,” the pensioner honestly admits.
“Well, now I understand,” you guess. - You - renowned cookbook publisher.
– No, I’m a simple person and I only have one chicken recipe.

It took a long time before he was able to find his first customer. Some sources claim that he visited 1006 restaurants before concluding the first contract. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanders received only 5 cents for each of his chickens at each restaurant. Not bad, considering that order volumes were constantly growing. Needless to say, already in the early 60s, several hundred US restaurants were clients of Harland Sanders. Later, he met Pete Herman, a restaurateur from Salt Lake City, who saw the potential in the Colonel's idea and opened a new restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the first KFC location.

And then Harland Sanders’ wish came true - he realized himself 100%. He found his favorite job completely surrendering to your talent. He made others believe in themselves!

When he was 70 years old, Kentucky Fried Chicken reached the peak of its fame, and the old colonel decides to sell the company to private investors for $2 million and a position as a company representative (brand ambassador), for which he was paid about $250,000 a year.

Recent years he devoted quite a lot to himself - traveling, playing golf, running his own restaurant, Claudia Sanders’ Dinner House, with his second wife Claudia.

In 1980, Harland Sanders died at the age of 90.

Five steps to a million

1. Farmer, tram conductor, private American army, blacksmith's assistant, locomotive fireman, legal trainee in court, insurance agent, furniture loader, ferry captain, tire salesman and car mechanic.

2. At the age of 40, life is just beginning: Sanders decided to work for himself and opened his own auto repair shop, which sold fried chicken the best.

3. At the age of 47, he followed the lead of his clients and opened his own restaurant.

4. At the age of 62, Colonel Sanders went completely broke when a new state highway passed away from his establishment.

5. Once again, pensioner Sanders began selling a franchise for the technology for preparing his fried chicken. And he became a millionaire at the age of 70.

“After I said the sinner's prayer, it completely changed my life. It really made a difference in me." - Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC. The most famous founder of the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland Sanders David was born on September 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana. After his father died when he was 6 years old, his mother had to go to work, and Sanders began to care for his younger brother and sister on his own.

By the way, this predetermined his fate, since Sanders began to cook a lot and cook quite tasty, while all his relatives began to note that he little boy I have excellent abilities for this matter. However, he began to earn his living from this only 30 years later.

After some time, his mother remarried, and Sanders went to work. It should be noted that none of his works was his favorite - and he had enough works. And what the future millionaire did was a farmer, a tram conductor, a private in the American army, a blacksmith's assistant, a steam locomotive fireman, a legal trainee in court, an insurance agent, a furniture loader, a ferry captain, a car tire salesman and a car mechanic.

Perhaps, of all his jobs, the happiest was working as a fireman on a steam locomotive - it was at that time that he decided to propose to his beloved Claudia, who supported him throughout family life and always believed in her beloved Harland. But the most fateful and even “title-bearing” job was working in a car repair shop.

By that time, most of his life had already flown by, and he was still a small man who had achieved nothing, he did not have enough money to live for his own pleasure. He was disappointed in life. And, of course, he wanted to change it.

Yes, Harland was already 40 years old when he opened his first successful business - an auto repair shop on Route 25, along which many Americans traveled south from the northern states. The car service began to generate decent income.

It must be admitted that Sanders showed himself here not only as a practical businessman, but also was extremely insightful - after observing the often hungry tourists staying with him, he decided to open his own dining room, where he personally fried incomparable chickens, adding his own unique seasoning!

Chicken meat became extremely popular, bringing incredible income to the budget. Significant event in Sanders' life occurred in 1935, when the governor of Kentucky awarded Harland the title of "Kentucky Colonel" for his services to the state. Indeed, they were great - after all, throughout the area they were talking about the “national dish” of the state from Harland Sanders.

But soon life began to crack again - the construction of a new highway was completed, onto which the entire stream that had previously passed by Harland’s auto repair shop was driven away.

It would seem like a failure again, his age is no longer young - 62 years old, Harland has almost given up.

And then... fried chicken came to his rescue! Yes, that’s right, Harland tensed up, packed his suitcase and went to drive around to nearby restaurants with the only phrase: “I can cook fried chicken better than you.” And he was refused again and again; an excellent cook in his advanced years was suspiciously examined from head to toe and often not even allowed onto the threshold.

It took a long time before he was able to find his first customer. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanders received only 5 cents for each of his chickens at each restaurant. Not bad, considering that order volumes were constantly growing. Needless to say, already in the early 60s, several hundred US restaurants were clients of Harland Sanders.

And then Harland Sanders’ wish came true - he realized himself 100%. He found his favorite job, completely surrendering to his talent. He made others believe in themselves!

When he was 70 years old, Kentucky Fried Chicken reached the peak of its fame, and the old colonel decided to sell the company to private investors for $2 million and a position as a company representative (the face of the brand), for which he was paid about $250 thousand a year.

He only needed to meet with the press, clients, employees, in general - to conduct marketing for the leader, which he, however, was no longer. But he didn’t need it.

In 1980, at the age of 90, Harland Sanders died. In recent years, he has devoted quite a lot to himself - traveling, playing golf, and running his own restaurant, Claudia Sanders’ Dinner House, with his wife. Colonel Harland Sanders was able to make his life complete.

This part of David Harland Sanders' biography may be known to many, but there is a lesser known part of his life story. However, one American preacher and author has done his best to change that.

Dr. Bob Rogers, whose father Waymon Rogers was a Colonel pastor, wrote a book about the legendary fried chicken entrepreneur. In this book, he reveals surprising facts about the founder of the KFC restaurant chain, Colonel Sanders. In it, he tells the story of how his father baptized this famous billionaire in the Jordan River in 1967, shortly after he became a Christian.

Rogers writes: “My dad knelt down next to him and asked, “Colonel, would you like to be born again?” The old colonel said with tears in his eyes, “I really want to, do you think Jesus can really save me and free me from what I curse?” Then dad said, “Colonel, God will save you tonight and you will never fight again.” That night the colonel sincerely accepted Christ into his heart. He was truly born again and became a new creation in Christ Jesus. From then on he never used the Lord's Name in vain.

A few days after his rescue, the colonel donated $15,000 to Pastor Rogers' church in Louisville, Kentucky—a very important amount at that moment.

The colonel told the pastor: “After I said the sinner’s prayer, it completely changed my life. It really made a difference in me." “I am ready to give a large amount of money, I want to give a tithe to the church.”

Dr. Rogers' book also tells how the Colonel experienced supernatural healing when colon surgery was scheduled to stop further development diseases. He was awaiting surgery in the hospital when his pastor, Rogers, came to pray for him. A day later, Sanders wrote: “I no longer need surgery, my pastor came and prayed for me and God healed me!”

The doctor said: “Colonel, when I examined you again, there were no polyps!” The founder of KFC has given generously to the church for many years.

He later said: “My prayers have always been out of gratitude. God has been so merciful to me. I've always believed in tithing." “The Bible says you are obligated to give 10% to God. I believe that even if you are a fraudster, you still owe 10% to the Lord, at least for the fact that you breathe. Tithing is a great inspiration in my life."

American chain of fast food restaurants. Specializes in chicken meat, as her name indicates - Kentucky Fried Chicken(Kentucky Fried Chicken). From the name you can immediately understand where this brand comes from. The company's headquarters are located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States.

Telling the story of the brand KFC, it is impossible not to at least briefly tell the biography of its founder, best known as Colonel Sanders. David Sanders was born September 9, 1890. His childhood was difficult, and the family situation forced David to leave home when he was still a boy. He forged documents and enlisted in the US Army at age 16. After completing his service, he wandered a lot around the country and during these wanderings he learned a lot, including how to cook a wide variety of dishes. At the age of 40, he opened a gas station in the town of Corbin, Kentucky, where he treated customers to fried chicken prepared according to own recipe, containing a specific set of herbs and spices. It was this dish that was destined to play a decisive role in the fate of Sanders. Visitors to the gas station liked the dish and they increasingly began to come in specifically to eat, and not just to refuel their cars.

Sanders realized that he had struck a gold mine. He improved the recipe (the chicken began to be fried under pressure) and moved to a larger premises; and then even larger. It is noteworthy that in those years the Great Depression was raging in the United States. By 1950, he was already so popular in Kentucky that he was even awarded the title of Kentucky Colonel, awarded to him personally by the governor of the state. It was then that the image that is depicted on the logo today crystallized KFC.

In 1955, the first problems began - the popularity of the Colonel's restaurants began to decline. But Sanders was not at a loss, and having found funds, he began to expand their number, actively introducing a franchise. The effect was not long in coming. In 1964, at the age of 74, David Sanders sold his business to Kentucky businessmen for almost $2 million (by that time the number of restaurants had already exceeded 600). Interestingly, at the same time he retained the right to Canadian franchises and long time didn't go out of business.

The Colonel died in 1980, having lived 90 years. It’s interesting that they buried him in the famous white suit, which for so many years personified the image of the founder KFC. By the way, the image of Colonel Sanders has become so remarkable that it has already been played out many times in popular culture. He's almost as recognizable as Ronald McDonald the clown

After the death of the founder, the company was resold several times. Owners KFC there were companies like R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company And PepsiCo .

In 1991, it was decided to shorten the name to an abbreviation of three letters. And since 1997 KFC owned by an American corporation Yum! Brands, specializing in food products (also owns brands Taco Bell And Pizza Hut). Menu in restaurants KFC Nowadays it includes a wide variety of dishes that have only one thing in common - they are based on chicken.