Colonel /ˈkɜrnəl/, abbreviated Col, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally captain. In air forces with a separate rank structure, the equivalent rank is generally group captain. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures. A colonel is typically in charge of a regiment in an army.

'Colonel' is usually the highest or second-highest field rank, and is below the general ranks.

History and origins[link]

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With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the seventeenth century, a colonel (normally a member of the aristocracy) became a holder (German Inhaber) or proprietor of a military contract with a sovereign. The colonel purchased the regimental contract — the right to hold the regiment — from the previous holder of that right or directly from the sovereign when a new regiment was formed or an incumbent was killed.^{[citation needed]}

The rank of colonel was popularized by the Spanish tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed 'the Great Captain', divided his armies in 'cornelias' or colonelcies, each led by a 'coronel' or colonel. ^[1] The use of 'colonel' became more widespread as the tercios led by commanders of many nationalities fought all over Europe.

As the office of colonel became an established practice, the colonel became the senior captain in a group of companies which were all sworn to observe his personal authority — to be ruled or regimented by him. This regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonel's regiment or standing regulation(s). By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonel's regiment (in the foregoing sense) came to be referred to as his regiment (in the modern sense) as well.

In French usage of this period the senior colonel in the army or, in a field force, the senior military contractor, was the colonel general and, in the absence of the sovereign or his designate, the colonel general might serve as the commander of a force. The position, however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless sinecure. (The head of a single regiment or demi brigade would be called a 'mestre de camp' or, after the Revolution, a 'chef de brigade'.)

By the late 19th century, colonel was a professional military rank though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. Along with other ranks it has become progressively more a matter of ranked duties, qualifications and experience and of corresponding titles and pay scale than of functional office in a particular organization.

As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by nearly every nation under a variety of names.

With the rise of communism, some of the large communist militaries saw fit to expand the colonel rank into several grades, resulting in the unique senior colonel rank which was found and is still used in such nations as China and North Korea.

Colonel-in-chief[link]

In many modern armies the 'regiment' has more importance as a ceremonial unit or a focus of members' loyalty than as an actual battle formation. Troops tend to be deployed in 'battalions' (commanded by a lieutenant colonel) as a more convenient size of military unit and, as such, colonels have tended to have a higher profile in specialist and command roles than as actual commanders of regiments. However, in Commonwealth armies the position of the colonel as the figurehead of a regiment is maintained in the honorary role of colonel-in-chief, usually held by a member of the royal family,^[2] the nobility, or a retired senior military officer. The colonel-in-chief wears a colonel's uniform and encourages the members of the regiment, but takes no active part in the actual command structure or in any operational duties.^[3]

Colonel and equivalent ranks by country[link]

Colonel in individual military forces[link]

The following articles deal with the rank of colonel as it is used in various national militaries.

• Kolonel (Belgium, Estonia & Netherlands)
• Colonel (Canada)
• Colonel (India)
• Colonel (Pakistan)
• Colonel (United Kingdom)
• Colonel (United States)

Central and Eastern European equivalent ranks[link]

Since the 16th century, the rank of regimental commander was adopted by several Central and Eastern European armies, most notably the forces of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Cossacks and then Muscovy. In countries with slavic languages, the exact name of the rank maintains a variety of spellings, all descendant from the Old Slavonic^{[disambiguation needed ]} word plk or polk meaning unit of standing army (see The Tale of Igor's Campaign), and include the following:

• Plukovník (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
• Pułkownik (Poland)
• Pulkininkas (Lithuania)
• Polkovnik (Russia, Slovenia, Bulgaria)
• Polkovnyk (Ukraine)
• Pukovnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia)

The Hungarian equivalent ezredes literally means 'leader of a thousand' (i.e. of a regiment)

Western European equivalent ranks[link]

• Oberst (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway)
• Överste (Sweden)
• Ofursti (Iceland)
• Eversti/Överste (Finland)

Other national equivalent ranks[link]

•  Afghanistan Dagarwal (دګروال)
•  Albania Kolonel
•  Armenia — Gndapet (գնդապետ)
•  Georgia Polkovniki (პოლკოვნიკი)

•  People's Republic of China Shang Xiao
•  Greece Syntagmatarchis (Συνταγματάρχης)
•  Hungary Ezredes
•  Iran Sarhang (سرهنگ)
•  Israel Aluf Mishne (אלוף משנה)

•  North Korea Sangchwa
•  Republic of Korea Taeryong

•  Republic of China (Taiwan) Shang Hsiao

•  Thailand Nai Phan (TH: นายพัน) Chief of 1,000
  • Phan Ek (TH: พันเอก) First of 1,000: Colonel
  • Phan Tho (TH: พันโท) Second of 1,000: Lieutenant colonel

•  Turkey Albay
•  Viet Nam Đại tá
•  Egypt عقيد Aqid (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)

Gallery[link]

Army colonels[link]

• Australian-Army-COL.gif

  Australia

• 

  Belgium

• Coronel-Brazil.gif

  Brazil (Coronel)

• Army slip-on Col.png

  Canada

• 

  Chile (Coronel)

• 

  Colombia

• 

  Finland (Eversti)

• 

  Germany (Oberst Bundeswehr

• 

  Greece (Syntagmatarchis)

• 

  Indian Army

• IE-Army-OF5.png

  Republic of Ireland

• 

  Italy (Colonnello)

• 

  Netherlands (Kolonel)

• Colonel Pak Army.jpg

  Pakistan

• Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Army of Poland.svg

  Poland (Pułkownik)

• 

  Portugal (Coronel)

• ROCA-COL.jpg

  ROC (Taiwan)(Shang Xiao)

• 

  Romania

• 

  Soviet Union (Polkovnik / Полковник)

• SL-Army-OF5 Colonel.PNG

  Sri Lanka

• 

  Sweden (Överste)

• 

  Thailand

• 

  United States

Air force colonels[link]

• 

  Belgium

• 

  Canada

• 

  Chile (Coronel)

• 

  Denmark (Oberst)

• 

  France

• 

  Germany (Oberst)

• 

  Italy (Colonnello)

• 

  Netherlands (Kolonel)

• 

  Poland (Pułkownik)

• 

  Spain (Coronel)

• 

  United States

Colonel as highest ranking officer[link]

Some military forces have a colonel as their highest ranking officer, with no 'general' ranks, and no superior authority (except, perhaps, the head of state as a titular commander-in-chief) other than the respective national government. Examples include the following (arranged alphabetically by country name):

• Antigua and Barbuda (170 personnel)
• Benin (4,500 personnel)
• Costa Rica (about 8,000 personnel)
• Gambia (1,900 personnel)
• Iceland (100 personnel, employed only for peacekeeping duties)
• Libya ( Commands all the Armed Forces -Muammar Gaddafi (Until 2011)
• Monaco (two branches, with a total of about 250 personnel)
• Niger (8,000 personnel)
• Suriname (1,800 personnel)
• Vatican City State (135 personnel - the Swiss Guard)

Rank insignia for a colonel in several nations which have no higher military rank.
Iceland	Monaco		Vatican City
	Colonel CCP	Colonel CSP
50px	50px	50px	50px

Other uses of colonel ranks[link]

The term colonel is also used as a title for auctioneers in the United States; there are a variety of theories or folk etymologies to explain the use of the term.^[4] One of these is the claim that during the American Civil War goods seized by armies were sold at auction by the colonel of the division.^[5]

See also[link]

• List of comparative military ranks

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Keegan, John; & Wheatcroft, Andrew (1996). Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day. London: Routledge.

Notes[link]

Harland "Colonel" Sanders
200px
Born	(1890-09-09)September 9, 1890 Henryville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	December 16, 1980(1980-12-16) (aged 90) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	School dropout[1]
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Religion	Disciples of Christ
Spouse	Josephine King (divorced) Claudia Price
Children	Harland David Sanders, Jr. Margaret Sanders Mildred Sanders Ruggles
Parents	Wilbur David Sanders Margaret Ann Sanders (née Dunlevy)[2]
Signature

Harland David "Colonel" Sanders (September 9, 1890 – December 16, 1980) was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant chain. His image remains iconic in KFC promotions, and a foundation he established in his later years aids charities and funds scholarships with more than a million dollars in grants a year.

Early life and career[link]

Sanders was born to a Presbyterian family in Henryville, Indiana. His father, Wilbur David Sanders, died when Harland was six years old, and, since his mother worked, he was required to cook for his family. He dropped out of school in seventh grade. When his mother remarried, he ran away from home because his stepfather beat him.^{[citation needed]} Sanders falsified his date of birth and enlisted in the United States Army at the age of sixteen, completing his entire service commitment in Cuba.^[3] During his early years, Sanders held many jobs, including: steamboat pilot, insurance salesman, railroad fireman and farmer.^[4] He had a son, Harland, Jr., who died at an early age, and two daughters, Margaret Sanders and Mildred Sanders Ruggles.^[5][6]

Harland Sanders at age 20

In 1929 Sanders opened a service station in Corbin, Kentucky where he cooked chicken dishes and other meals for customers. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters. His local popularity grew, and Sanders moved to a motel and 142 seat restaurant, later Harland Sanders Café and Museum. Over the next nine years he developed his "secret recipe" for frying chicken in a pressure fryer that cooked the chicken much faster than pan frying.

Sanders was given the honorary title "Kentucky Colonel" in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon. He was "re-commissioned" in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby.^[7]

Around 1950, Sanders began developing his distinctive appearance, growing his trademark mustache and goatee and donning a white suit and string tie.^[7] He never wore anything else in public during the last 20 years of his life, using a heavy wool suit in the winter and a light cotton suit in the summer.^[4]

At age 65, Sanders' store having failed^[4] due to the new Interstate 75 reducing his restaurant's customer traffic, he took $105 from his first Social Security check and began visiting potential franchisees.^[8]

The restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky where Colonel Sanders developed Kentucky Fried Chicken

The franchise approach was successful, and less than ten years later (in 1964) Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporation for $2 million to a partnership of Kentucky businessmen headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. The deal did not include the Canadian operations. In 1965 Sanders moved to Mississauga, Ontario to oversee his Canadian franchises and continued to collect franchise and appearance fees there and appearance fees in the U.S. (He was locally active. For example, his 80th birthday was held at the Inn on the Park in North York, Ontario, hosted by Jerry Lewis as a Canadian Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser.)^[9] In 1973, he sued Heublein Inc. — then parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken — over alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975, Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly referred to their gravy as "sludge" that tasted like "wallpaper paste".^[10]

Death and legacy[link]

Sanders later used his stockholdings to create the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, which used the proceeds to aid charities and fund scholarships. His trusts continue to donate money to groups like the Trillium Health Care Centre; a wing of their building specializes in women's and children's care and has been named after him.^[11] The Sidney, British Columbia based foundation granted over $1,000,000 in 2007, according to its 2007 tax return.^[12]

Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, of pneumonia on December 16, 1980.^[13][14] He had been diagnosed with acute leukemia the previous June.^[5] His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol; after a funeral service at the Southern Baptist Seminary Chapel attended by more than 1,000 people. He was buried in his characteristic white suit and black western string tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

Gravesite of Harland Sanders

Since his death, Sanders has been portrayed by voice actors in Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials in radio and an animated version of him has been used for television commercials.

A 1982 episode of Little House on the Prairie ("Wave of the Future") paid tribute to KFC by featuring a character implied to be Col. Sanders (portrayed by John Roberts) offering Mrs. Olson a fried chicken franchise. For legal reasons, this character was listed in the credits as "Bearded Man".

Sanders was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball league has developed an urban legend of the "Curse of the Colonel". A statue of Colonel Sanders was thrown into the river and lost during a 1985 fan celebration, and (according to the legend) the "curse" has caused Japan's Hanshin Tigers to perform poorly since the incident.^[15]

A manuscript of a book on cooking, which Sanders apparently wrote in the mid-1960s, has been found in KFC archives. It includes some cooking recipes from Sanders as well as stories. KFC plans to try some of the recipes, and to offer the book online.^[16]

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• Pearce, John, The Colonel (1982) ISBN 0-385-18122-1
• Kleber, John J. et al. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. 
• Encyclopedia of Kentucky. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-403-09981-1. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harland Sanders

Wikinews has related news: Colonel Sanders statue lost in 1985 recovered from river in Japan

• Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Harland "Colonel" Sanders at Find a Grave
• CBC Archives CBC Radio talks with Colonel Sanders about Canadian food and cooking (from 1957).
• Harland Sanders Café and Museum, Corbin, KY
• FBI file on "Colonel" Sanders
• Sanders on What's My Line? when he was unknown nationally
• Colonel Sanders at the Internet Movie Database

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

Hathi
Hathi as illustrated by W. H. Drake in the 1895 edition of The Two Jungle Books
Created by	Rudyard Kipling
Information
Species	Asian elephant
Gender	Male

Hathi is a fictional character created by Rudyard Kipling for the Mowgli stories collected in The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895). Hathi is a bull elephant that lives in the jungle. Kipling named him after hāthī (हाथी), the Hindi word for "elephant".

Kipling's character[link]

Hathi is head of the elephant troop. He is one of the oldest animals of the jungle and represents order, dignity and obedience to the Law of the Jungle. Hathi is famed for his patience and never hurries unnecessarily. In "How Fear Came", he tells the jungle animals' creation myth and describes Tha, the Creator.

In the story "Letting In the Jungle", Mowgli reveals that Hathi once destroyed a human village in revenge for being captured, and persuades Hathi and his sons to do the same to Buldeo's village as punishment for threatening Messua with execution.

Disney's character[link]

Disney film[link]

In the Disney film, the character of Hathi, like the other characters in Kipling's Mowgli stories, is greatly transformed and becomes a comic character. He is called "Colonel Hathi", and he leads his wife, Winifred Hathi (voiced by Verna Felton), and his son, Hathi Junior (voiced by Clint Howard), in a marching patrol while singing a deliberately silly song authored by the Sherman Brothers entitled "Colonel Hathi's March".

The night after Mowgli is hypnotized by Kaa, Col. Hathi and the Dawn Patrol patrol the jungle and wake Mowgli and Bagheera. When Mowgli comes to investigate, he tries to join with help from Junior. After the patrol, Hathi inspects all of his elephants. Once he reaches Mowgli, he thinks of him as a new recruit. But after Mowgli talks back to him, he realizes that Mowgli is a human and yells at him for infiltrating the Dawn Patrol. However, Bagheera comes to stop the fiasco. After Bagheera promises to return Mowgli, Hathi says the famous saying "an elephant NEVER forgets". But as they march along, Winifred tells Hathi that he left Junior behind. When he goes to fetch him, he forgets to say "halt" and all the elephants crash into him.

Later in the film, Bagheera finds Hathi and asks him to find Mowgli, for he has run away. Hathi refuses saying that the herd was on a cross country march and that Shere Khan cannot be found for miles (the irony is that Shere Khan is actually listening to the conversation for he too is looking for Mowgli). Hathi's wife, Winifred, gets furious with Hathi and tells him to find the Man Cub with the threat of taking over command. Hathi does not listen. When Junior tries to convince his dad to find Mowgli, Hathi agrees to find him, bluffing that he "had a plan in mind all the time." (to which Winifred sarcastically replied "Sure, you did!") After he organized all of his elephants, they start the search. Shere Khan then decides to start looking for the man cub.

Other media[link]

Hathi does not appear in the Disney Channel show Talespin, but he is one of the main characters in the spin-off Jungle Cubs. Colonel Hathi returns in the Disney sequel The Jungle Book 2 in which Jim Cummings provided his voice.

At Disneyland Paris[link]

Disneyland Paris originally featured a restaurant named Explorers Club, themed to famous explorers. This is a colonial house in the jungle, decorated with many artifacts from all over the world. In 1995, the restaurant was renamed Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost with new meals specialising in a wide range of pizza and pasta dishes.

Hindi[link]

In the language of Hindi, Hathi translates to Elephant.

Hathi in popular culture[link]

Like all of the main Jungle Book characters, "Hathi" is used as a name for a warranted adult, or young leader in many Cub Scout Packs.

Hathi is a major character in the anime series Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli where he is the king and enforcer of the Law of the Jungle. Like the stories, he has 3 children. However, one change is that Chil the Kite is his messenger.