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Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC and mortal enemy of PETA, lived an amazing life. At an age when most folks retire, Sanders helped launch an empire. No doubt about it -- he was a dedicated businessman and a helluva dresser. But was "The Colonel" really a colonel? Well, sort of. According to his restaurant's official site, Harland Sanders was named an honorary colonel by Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon in 1935. Sanders loved the title so much, he took to dressing like "the popular notion of a Southern colonel." Moving from food service to
show business, Tom Parker was also an honorary colonel. The famed manager of Elvis Presley was given the title by Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis in 1948. Parker didn't adopt a colonel's dress code as enthusiastically as Sanders, but he was known to don the ol' white suit and skinny tie on occasion. While Sanders and Parker are two of the more famous honorary colonels, they certainly aren't the only ones. We were surprised to learn many celebrities and political figures have been given the title. According to Wikipedia, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Hunter S.
Thompson were all members of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.
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