John Young Brown, Jr. is a politician, entrepreneur, and businessman from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the 55th governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983, although he may be best known for building Kentucky Fried Chicken into a multi-million dollar restaurant chain. Currently single, he has been married three times, the second time to former Miss America Phyllis George. Among his children are news anchor Pamela Ashley Brown and former Secretary of State of Kentucky John Y. Brown, III. The son of a U.S. congressman, Brown's talent for business became evident in college, where he made a substantial amount of money selling Encyclop�dia Britannica sets. After briefly practicing law with his father, he purchased Kentucky Fried Chicken from founder Harland Sanders in 1964. Brown turned the company into a world-wide success, and sold his interest in the company for a huge profit in 1971. He then invested in several other restaurant ventures, but none matched the success of KFC. 

December 28th, 1933 in Lexington  /  Died:   Nov 22nd, 2022