In 1939, the pressure cooker was introduced. Harland Sanders, who operated the Sanders Court & Café (a restaurant/gas station) in Corbin, Ky., loved the taste of green beans prepared in the pressure cooker, and he decided to adapt the technology for fried chicken.

By 1940, Colonel Sanders had perfected the recipe that has become world famous as the Colonel's Original Recipe. (Four years earlier, Sanders had been made an honorary "Kentucky Colonel" by Governor Ruby Laffoon, in recognition of his contributions to the state's cuisine.)

By 1952, Sanders began traveling from town to town, cooking batches of chicken for restaurant owners and franchising his business. Pete Harman of Salt Lake City was the first KFC franchisee. A handshake agreement stipulated a payment of a nickel to Sanders for each chicken sold.

In 1955, an interstate highway was built and bypassed Sanders's service station in Corbin. He sold the service station, collected his first Social Security check (for $105) and hit the road to sell his Secret Recipe to restaurants.

In 1957, Kentucky Fried Chicken was first sold in buckets, and an industry icon was born.

Today, there are more than a billion of the Colonel's Finger Lickin' Good chicken dinners sold annually in more than 80 countries and territories around the world. Every day in China, a new KFC restaurant opens.

There are more than 14,000 KFC locations around the world, and more than 12 million customers visit each day, to enjoy the taste of the Original Recipe that Colonel Harland Sanders developed nearly 70 years ago.