Fire destroys The Sanders Court & Café, but it is rebuilt and reopened. The pressure cooker is introduced. After paying debts owed, he is virtually broke.
rant in the small front room of a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders serves as station operator, chief cook and cashier and names the dining area "Sanders Court & Café."
1936
Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon makes Harland Sanders an honorary Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his contributions to the state's cuisine.
1937
The Sanders Court & Café adds a motel and expands the restaurant to 142 seats.
1939
The Sanders Court & Café is first listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating." Soon thereafter Colonel Sanders begins using it to fry his chicken to give customers fresh chicken, faster.
1940
Birthdate of the Original Recipe
1949
Sanders marries Claudia Price.
1952
The Colonel begins actively franchising his chicken business by traveling from town to town and cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and employees. The Colonel awards Pete Harman of Salt Lake City with the first KFC franchise. A handshake agreement stipulates a payment of a nickel to Sanders for each chicken sold.
1955
An interstate highway is built to bypass Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders sells the service station on the same day that he receives his first social security check for $105. He decides to go on the road to sell his Secret Recipe to restaurants.
1957
Kentucky Fried Chicken first sold in buckets
1960
The Colonel's hard work on the road begins to pay off and there are 190 KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada.
1964
Kentucky Fried Chicken has more than 600 franchised outlets in the United States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England. Sanders sells his interest in the U.S. company for $2 million to a group of investors headed by John Y. Brown Jr., future governor of Kentucky. The Colonel remains a public spokesman for the company.
1965
Colonel Sanders receives the Horatio Alger Award from the American Schools and Colleges Association.
1966
The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation goes public.
1969
The Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
1971
More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants are in worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquires KFC Corporation.
1976
An independent survey ranks the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable celebrity.
1977
Colonel Sanders speaks before a U.S. Congressional Committee on Aging.
1979
KFC cooks up 2.7 billion pieces of chicken. There are approximately 6,000 KFC restaurants worldwide with sales of more than $2 billion.
12/16/1980
Colonel Harland Sanders, who came to symbolize quality in the food industry, dies after being stricken with leukemia. Flags on all Kentucky state buildings fly at half-staff for four days.
1982
Kentucky Fried Chicken becomes a subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.) when Heublein, Inc. is acquired by Reynolds.
1986
PepsiCo, Inc. acquires KFC from RJR Nabisco, Inc.
1997
PepsiCo, Inc. announces the spin-off of its quick service restaurants - KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut - into Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.
2002
Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company, changes its corporate name to YUM! Brands, Inc. In addition to KFC, the company owns A&W® All-American Food® Restaurants, Long John Silvers®, Pizza Hut® and Taco Bell® restaurants.
2006
More than a billion of the Colonel's "finger lickin' good" chicken dinners are served annually in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.
2007
KFC proudly introduces a new recipe that keeps the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices and finger-lickin' flavor, but contains Zero Grams of Trans Fat per serving thanks to new cooking oil.
2008
The Colonel has a new look! KFC updates one of the most recognized, respected and beloved brand icons with a new logo. The new logo depicts Colonel Sanders with his signature string tie, but for the first time, replaces his classic white, double-breasted suit with a red apron. The apron symbolizes the home-style culinary heritage of the brand and reminds customers that KFC is always in the kitchen cooking delicious, high-quality, freshly prepared chicken by hand, just the way Colonel Sanders did 50 years ago.
2009
KFC introduces Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ - a better-for-you option for health conscious consumers who love the flavor of KFC. Kentucky Grilled Chicken has less calories, fat and sodium than KFC’s Original Recipe® chicken, without sacrificing the great taste of KFC.
