The Biography of Colonel Harland Sanders

CNBC aired a documentary (I don't know the year) on the biography of the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Harland Sanders.  Sanders was born on February 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana.  After his father died when he was six, he was responsible for taking care of his younger brother and sister.  He's held numerous jobs throughout his life such as farmer, streetcar conductor, railroad fireman, and insurance salesman.  At the age of 40, Sanders was running a service station in Kentucky where he could feed hungry travelers.  He would eventually move his operation to a motel and a 142-seat restaurant across the street, and it was there he featured a particular brand of fried chicken.  It was so notable that in 1935 Harland Sanders was named a Kentucky Colonel by then governor Ruby Laffoon.  He would eventually have to close his restaurant due to the construction of Interstate 75, which would bypass the motel and restaurant.

In 1950 Sanders started changing his appearance with his trademark goatee and white suit and string tie.  After closing his restaurant in 1952, Sanders devoted time to franchising the chicken business.  He took his first Social Security check and began visiting potential franchisees.  He would promote his chicken to different franchises across the country.  He would cook batches of chicken from restaurant to restaurant.  He would strike deals with the restaurants which agreed to pay him a nickel for every chicken the restaurant sold.  In 1964 with more than 600 franchised outlets, Sanders sold his interests in the couple for $2 million to a partnership of businessmen from Kentucky headed by future Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr.   In 1966, the restaurant went public and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1969.  The rest is history. 

In December 1980 Colonel Sanders died after being stricken with leukemia.  Sanders' story is very intriguing because he didn't start out in life with success.  He tried out a number of jobs throughout his young adult years before finally discovering his calling.  His greatest success didn't come until he reached the retirement age of 65.  He introduced his secret recipe of his eleven herbs and spices that only a few people know the actual recipe. That's the trademark of his chicken recipe.  He was known for his secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices and his pressure cooker.  The secret recipe is locked in a vault today.  I hope you enjoy listening to the "finger lickin' good" biography of Colonel Harlan Sanders. 

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5



Part 6