Sanders, Harland (1890-1980)

US restaurant entrepreneur and a pioneer of fast food. Sanders founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise in 1956, at the age of 65, using his monthly $105 dollar social security cheque. He sold the company in 1964 for $2 million to a group of investors, including US financier Jack Massey and US politician John Y Brown, Jr, by which time there were 600 franchised outlets across the USA and Canada. Sanders's white beard, white suit, black string tie, and walking cane became a worldwide trademark of the company. Sanders retained a seat on the board and a lifetime salary, and continued to appear in commercials for the product right up to his death in 1980.

Sanders held a variety of jobs before he opened Sanders's Cafe in 1929 in a service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Offering ‘diner’ family meals, he soon gained a reputation for his fried chicken and good service and in 1935 received his honorary colonel's title from the governor of Kentucky in recognition of his cuisine. By 1939 he had developed his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and patented the basic cooking technique (which is still used today) and had opened a motel. In 1956, with a new interstate highway planned to bypass Corbin, he sold his business. Reduced to living on social security payments, Sanders took to the road franchising his fried chicken recipe.

Born in Henryville, Indiana, Sanders was the eldest of five children. After his father's death, he looked after his family while his mother worked, during which time he learnt to cook.