Will Keith Kellogg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Will Keith Kellogg
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Kellogg in 1932
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| Born | April 7, 1860 Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.
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| Died | October 6, 1951 (aged 91) Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.
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| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Michigan |
| Occupation | Industrialist, farmer |
| Known for | Founder of Kellogg Company |
| Spouse(s) | Ella Davis (m. 1880) Carrie Staines Kellogg (m. 1918) |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | John Harvey Kellogg (brother) |
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William Keith Kellogg (April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951), known as W.K. Kellogg, was an American businessman. He is famous for starting the Kellogg Company. This company makes many popular breakfast cereals.
W.K. Kellogg was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He followed their teaching of vegetarianism, which means not eating meat. He also loved Arabian horses and started the Kellogg Arabian Ranch to breed them. Kellogg was a very generous person. In 1934, he started the Kellogg Foundation by donating $66 million to help others.
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Starting His Career
W.K. Kellogg began his business life selling brooms in his hometown. This was Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1878, he worked at a broom factory in Dallas, Texas.
A year later, in 1879, W.K. came back home. He started helping his brother, John Harvey Kellogg. John managed the Battle Creek Sanitarium. This sanitarium was a special health center. It focused on health principles from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The Invention of Flaked Cereal
The Kellogg brothers were pioneers in making flaked cereal. They discovered this process by accident. They were trying to make a healthy food for the sanitarium patients.
W.K. Kellogg saw that this new flaked cereal could be very popular. He wanted to keep the way they made it a secret. But his brother, John, allowed visitors to watch the process. One visitor, C. W. Post, learned how to make it. He then started his own cereal company, Post Cereals. This made W.K. upset. He decided to leave the sanitarium and start his own company.
Building the Kellogg Company
W.K. Kellogg and his brother John promoted cereals. They especially liked corn flakes as a healthy breakfast. Around 1897, they started the Sanitas Food Company. This company made whole-grain cereals.
At that time, many people ate eggs and meat for breakfast. Poorer people often ate porridge or other boiled grains. The brothers disagreed about adding sugar to their cereal. In 1906, Will Kellogg started his own company. He called it the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. This company later became the famous Kellogg Company.
Helping People and Innovating
In 1930, W.K. Kellogg created the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. He gave $66 million to this foundation. He believed in investing in people.
His company was one of the first to put nutrition labels on food. These labels tell you what is in your food. Kellogg also offered the first prize inside cereal boxes for children.
During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs. Kellogg helped by changing how his cereal plant worked. He made the plant run four shifts, each lasting six hours. This allowed more people in Battle Creek to have jobs.
A Passion for Arabian Horses
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W.K. Kellogg had a strong interest in Arabian horses for a long time. In 1925, he bought a large piece of land in Pomona, California. He spent $250,000 to create an Arabian horse ranch.
He brought many Arabian horses from England. His ranch became famous in southern California. People loved to watch the weekly horse shows there. Many Hollywood celebrities also visited the ranch. The actor Rudolph Valentino even borrowed Kellogg's horse "Jadaan" for his movie Son of the Sheik.
In 1932, Kellogg gave his ranch to the University of California. The ranch grew to be very large. During World War II, the U.S. War Department used the ranch. In 1949, the land and horses were given to the State of California. The rule was that the Arabian horse herd must always be kept there. The ranch is now part of Cal Poly Pomona.
Kellogg also had an airport on his property near the ranch. It was called the W. K. Kellogg Airport. It operated from 1928 to 1932. It was the largest privately owned airport in the country at that time.
Later Life and Legacy
Will Keith Kellogg passed away on October 6, 1951. He was 91 years old. He died in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Kellogg's generosity helped start two important places. One is California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). The other is Kellogg College, Oxford in England.
See also
- Cereal box prize
- Premium (marketing)
