Orville Redenbacher

Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name. Redenbacher was born in Brazil, Indiana, and grew up on his family's farm where he sometimes sold popcorn in town from a roadside stand. He graduated from Brazil High School in 1924 and was in the top 5% of his class. He attended Purdue University, joining the agriculture-oriented Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and the Purdue All-American Marching Band. He graduated with a degree in agronomy in 1928. He spent most of his life in the agriculture industry, serving as a Vigo County Farm Bureau extension agent in Terre Haute, Indiana, and at Princeton Farms in Princeton, Indiana. He earned a small fortune in fertilizer, but in his spare time, he indulged in his obsession. In 1951, he and partner Charlie Bowman bought the George…