Some Things Invented by Mormons
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Many of America's most successful companies and brand names were started by Latter-day Saints. This page doesn't list this kind of information, but it's as good a place as any to clear up one occasionally confusing topic.
Visitors to Salt Lake City are aware the the world's first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant is there. Was Kentucky Fried Chicken started by Mormons? Well, yes and no.
The famous chicken recipe itself, with its secret blend of eleven herbs and spices, really was created by "Colonel" Harland D. Sanders. Colonel Sanders was not just a corporate symbol or the creation of an advertising man. He was the actual creator of the world's most famous fast-food chicken recipe.
Colonel Sanders was not from Utah, and he was not a Mormon. He wasn't even from Kentucky, in fact. He was born in Henryville, Indiana on September 9, 1890.
In 1939 Colonel Sanders perfected his chicken recipe in his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. (So, if you're keeping score, Kentucky Fried Chicken -- the recipe -- really was created in Kentucky.)
Colonel Sanders realized he had a potentially popular product on his hands and took it on the road. In 1952 Pete Harman, a Latter-day Saint and a native of Utah, made a deal with Colonel Sanders to create a restaurant franchise based around the Sanders' recipe. Harman and Colonel Sanders developed the franchise concept. Harman became the first franchisee (opening the aforementioned world's first KFC in SLC, which has also borne the sign "Harman's Cafe.").
(Eventually Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to simply "KFC," which, officially, doesn't stand for anything now. KFC says this is to reflect a more health-conscious image and emphasize the diversity of their menu. There are those that say the state of Kentucky asked for an exorbitant licensing fee for use of the word "Kentucky," and that this is the real reason why Kentucky Fried Chicken became "KFC." But according to Barbara Mikkelson, this notion is simply an urban legend that started out as a joke. (Source: Barbara Mikkelson, "False Authority" page on the "Urban Legends Reference Pages" website, last updated 28 February 2001; URL: http://www.snopes2.com/lost/false.htm)
Harman's single restaurant eventually grew to 245 locations owned by his own company, and the KFC restaurant franchise became one of the world's most recognizable brands. There are nearly 11,000 KFC locations in the world, with annual sales of 8.9 billion (year 2000).
Harman was not only a successful businessman; he was also a community leader and generous philanthropist. The Harman Building on the BYU campus bears his name, as he was its principle benefactor.
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