Who is now known as the mind behind one of the most famous fried chicken chains in the country was once someone struggling to make ends meet. Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, was born in 1890 in Henryville, Indiana and was dealt an unconventionally rough hand when his father passed when he was six-years-old, leaving him to cook and care for his siblings.

After dropping out of school in seventh grade, Sanders ran away from home to work as a farmhand, and when he turned 16, faked his age to enlist in the United States army. While he was honorably discharged just a year later, he was hired by the railway as a laborer. He was later fired for fighting with a coworker. In the meantime, he began studying law but took another route after yet another fight. He then moved back in with his mom and began selling life insurance – until he was fired once again for insubordination.

Sanders founded a ferry boat company in 1920, hoping to later cash in this business to create a lamp manufacturing company. He later found another company had already been selling a different version of his lamp. 

Finally, at 40, Sanders began selling chicken dishes at a service station, and advertising his food. Following World War II, Sanders tried to franchise this restaurant – the “secret recipe” that later became known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was rejected 1,009 times before it was accepted. Finally, KFC was sold for two million dollars ($15.3 million today) and he expanded internationally. 

Sanders’ infamous goatee, white suit and western string tie still appear on the KFC logo to this day, and people recognize it all around the world. He died at the age of 90 from pneumonia. At that time, Sanders had opened around 6,000 locations in 48 countries. By 2013, there were 18,000 KFC locations in 118 countries.