Colonel Harland Sanders is known as the founder of KFC, the most famous fried chicken franchise restaurant in the world. Currently, more than one billion fried chickens made from Colonel’s recipes are enjoyed every year in the world. Even available in almost 80 countries worldwide. That was the result of Colonel Harland Sanders’ hard struggle as the founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
In his journey, it is never too late to start a business even at a very old age. That’s what Colonel Harland Sanders proved. This inspiring story of ups and downs in business from the founder of KFC is really worth listening to. Below we present the biodata, profile and biography of Colonel Harland Sanders and his struggle to build KFC as one of the largest fast food franchises in the world.
Quick Info
| Full Name | Harland David Sanders |
| Birth Date | September 9, 1890 |
| Birth Place | Indiana, America |
| Died | Kentucky, America, December 16, 1980 |
| Parents | Father – Wilbur David Sanders Mother – Margaret Ann Sanders |
| Wife | Josephine King, Claudia Price |
| Child | Mildred Sanders Ruggles, Harland Sanders, Jr., Margaret Sanders |
| Profession | Founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) |
Harland Sanders Biography
Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890. His full name is Harland David Sanders. His father was Wilbur David Sanders and his mother was Margaret Ann Sanders. Stay up-to-date with Deltsapure! Provide accurate and updated news for readers.
Childhood
At the age of 6, Sanders lost his father, who died. His mother was forced to take on responsibilities early. Existing conditions required Harland Sanders to look after his two younger siblings and learn to cook early.
Not yet seven years old, he has become a skilled chef. He worked in the rice fields when he was only ten years old for two dollars a month.
From porters to parking attendants
While working as a coolie and earning no more than sixteen cents, he also worked as a parking attendant. In 1906, he joined the army and was sent to Cuba. After that he retired from the army.
Living by relying on pension money was not enough, he then joined the train firefighting team. During those times, he also studied law through correspondence. He continued to explore his abilities until he finally obtained a diploma in law.
Even though he had often handled cases in several courts in Little Arkansas, he felt his income was far from standard. Therefore, for him the diploma he had obtained was of no use. He left the profession of lawyer and opened a stand for car services in 1929 in Corbin, Kentucky.
Opening a Restaurant
One day, a hawker said that in this city there were no good restaurants, so anyone could eat in them comfortably. He confirmed that opinion.
In his mind the desire to set up a restaurant was stirring. No one knew that the hawker’s comments would become a point in Harland Sanders’ life that would change his fate. This restaurant created a breakthrough in serving the fastest food menu.
Harland Sanders started in a small room, namely a warehouse behind his car service stand. He has turned it into a small restaurant selling fried chicken and fresh vegetables.
Harland Sanders’ restaurant is very famous. To open a restaurant, he didn’t find it difficult to just close his gas station and turn it into a restaurant which he named “Café Sanders”.
In 1930, Harland Sanders’ business continued to grow. The restaurant was now filled with one hundred and forty-two people. Remembering his love for continuous development and education in all matters, he finally attended training in restaurant and hotel management for eight weeks at Cornell University.
Loved the Fried Chicken
Harland Sanders really likes fried chicken, but he doesn’t use the classic method, namely using oil which doesn’t produce the taste he wants. In 1939, the founder of KFC discovered a surefire way to fry chicken.
One of the things that helped this new discovery was the discovery of a pressure cooker or pressure cooker which could produce delicious and fresh chicken within ten seconds by steaming it over steam.
Recipe for ‘Eleven KFC secret spices’
This method is very good because it doesn’t lose the taste and smell and doesn’t use oil. Every year, he continued to experiment with his fried chicken until finally he found a special fried chicken recipe consisting of spices and seasonings known as ‘KFC’s Eleven secret spices.’
In 1949, Harland Sanders received the rank of colonel thanks to his success in the Kentucky area. However, he prefers to be called a businessman.
In 1953, Harland Sanders received an offer to sell his restaurant for one hundred and sixty-four thousand dollars. Even though this amount is very tempting, Harland Sanders rejects it.
Falling Bankrupt
After several years, the layout of the city of Kentucky changed, so that the restaurant was no longer strategic and attracted visitors.
This was the reason why he was forced to sell it through open auction for seventy-five thousand dollars. This amount is not enough to pay off its debts.
1000 More Rejections
The Colonel decided to retire. He got a hundred and five dollars from his own and his wife’s social security. Even though his soul was broken and lacking, Harland Sanders did not give up.
At an age that is too old for most people, Harland Sanders tried to sell a KFC-style fried chicken recipe to restaurants in the Outta region, USA. He tried to offer the recipe. He went to markets to promote the idea of selling his KFC chicken, even though he was old and suffering from rheumatism.
Harland Sanders sometimes sleeps in the car to cover his hotel payments. During his two years traveling around, he could only satisfy five restaurants. The chicken recipe he offered was mostly rejected and laughed at.
During his two years of going around offering his prescription, he received more than 1000 rejections. Without knowing giving up and confident that he would succeed, he kept trying.
Tireless Effort
Finally, the fried chicken recipe was liked by many Americans at that time. His tireless struggle paid off with the success of his fried chicken recipe.
By the time Colonel Harland Sanders reached the age of seventy, the number of restaurants that were part of his KFC franchise reached two hundred places, in the USA and Canada.
After reaching this number, he stopped going around because many people came to his residence for consultation. Finally, he fully helped his wife to prepare food recipes consisting of several types of herbs and spices.
He then sold them by post. Until now, the recipe is unknown except for a handful of people who do not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.
Success at 70 Years of Age
In 1963, the number of restaurants under the KFC franchise reached six hundred. This amount was too much and it was impossible for him to carry it alone.
Therefore, Harland Sanders decided to sell his KFC franchise business to John Brown Junior and billionaire Jack Mass for one million dollars.
Apart from that, Sanders also received a monthly salary for life of forty thousand dollars (later increased to seventy-five thousand dollars) in exchange for his role as a consultant, the advertisements he had published, and his position as the company’s main director.
Harland Sanders Dies
Colonel Harland Sanders died in 1980 and was buried in Louisville. In 1982, the KFC franchise business became part of a Reynolds subsidiary and in 1986, KFC was purchased by the Pepsi Cola company for eight hundred and forty million dollars.
In 1995, the number of restaurants reached nine thousand. Its employees reached seven hundred and fifty thousand people in ninety-two countries worldwide in 2005.
