You might have heard about the very first American fast food chains to expand internationally. KFC was one of them. There’s a great story behind the commencement of this renowned fast food chain. The word KFC stands for ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’. Today we bring forth you the story of the founder of KFC, Colonel Harland Sanders.
On 8th September 1890, Harland David Sanders was born to Wilbur David and Margaret Ann. Harland was the eldest of 3 children of the family. They lived in Henryville, Indiana.
He didn’t have a childhood of sweet memories
In 1895, when Sanders was just 5 years old, his father passed away. Therefore his mother had to go to work in order to feed her family. Due to that, Sanders had to take care of his younger siblings. He was handed over the responsibility to cook for them. Therefore he started to love the industry which made him a renowned personality some decades later.
It is said that he was skilled with vegetables and bread at the age of seven. He was improving his skills with meat at the time too. Time passed.
He had to go for work in a farm at the age of 10. When he was 12, his mother remarried to William Broaddus. Therefore they moved to Greenwood, Indiana.
Due to some reasons like the bad relationship with his stepfather, he left home at the age of 13. By that time he had been dropped out of the seventh grade too. So, he moved to Indianapolis and started working as a painter and followed by as a farmhand.
When he was 16 years old, he went to New Albany to live with his uncle. He went to his uncle’s place with the awareness of his mother. As his uncle worked for the streetcar company, Sander got the chance to work as a conductor.
Showing a forged birth certificate, Sanders joined United States Army in 1906, when he was 16. He completed his service commitment as a Wagoner in Cuba, and honourably discharged in 1907. Thereafter he moved to Sheffield, Alabama to live with his uncle. There he met his brother, Clarence who had left home to escape the shadow of the stepfather.
Dozens of jobs
Thereafter Sanders did many a jobs. He worked as a steam engine stoker, as a labour and as a fireman. In 1909 he married Josephine King. Their first child (a boy) died in 1932 from infected tonsils. They had two daughters too. In name they were Margaret and Mildred.
Sanders then started practicing law in Little Rock. He practiced law for about 3 years and earned a considerable fee in order to feed his family. But unfortunately after a courtroom brawl, his legal career ended.
After doing another set of jobs, Sanders established a ferry boat company. He operated a boat on the Ohio River. Sanders had shares of the company. He succeeded there and later he cashed in his shares. There he got $22,000, therefore he established an acetylene lamp manufacturing company.
It was not a successful investment as electric lamps were introduced sooner. Sanders worked as the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Colombus too before starting the lamp company. But he resigned from the job sooner.
After the failure of Sanders’ lamp venture, he moved to Kentucky. There he worked as a salesman. Also he did some other jobs after losing his job as a salesman.