Truett Cathy Timeline
1921: Samuel Truett Cathy is born in Eatonton on March 14.
1929: Cathy sells soft drinks in his front yard in Atlanta, where the family now lives.
1932: Cathy gets an Atlanta Journal paper route, which he carries faithfully for seven years.
1939: Cathy is drafted by the U.S. Army and serves until he is honorably discharged in 1945.
1946: Cathy and his brother Ben pool their resources and, on May 23, open a 24-hour diner called the Dwarf Grill in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville.
1948: Cathy marries Jeannette McNeil, whom he first met at age 8 at while attending West End Baptist Church.
1949: Ben Cathy and another brother are killed in a plane crash, leaving Truett sole proprietor of what's now known as the Dwarf House.
1951: Cathy opens a second Dwarf House in Forest Park, where he devises the formula for what will become the Chick-fil-A sandwich.
1963: Cathy trademarks Chick-fil-A.
1967: Cathy opens a separate location in Greenbriar Mall to sell his chicken sandwiches, and Chick-fil-A restaurants are born.
1973: Cathy introduces his college scholarship program for employees. By 2000, over 16,000 employees had received a scholarship.
1982: A major mall developer tries to get Cathy to change his closed Sundays policy by offering a $5,000 donation to a church of Cathy's choice for every mall restaurant that would open on Sundays. Cathy turns him down.
1984: Cathy launches the WinShape Centre Foundation (for "shaping winners"), which sponsors scholarships, camps and foster care programs.
1986: The first free-standing Chick-fil-A opens.
1989: Cathy writes his first book, "It's Easier to Succeed than to Fail."
1993: First drive-through-only store opens.
1996: Chick-fil-A becomes the Peach Bowl's first-ever title sponsor.
2001: Chick-fil-A opens its 1,000th store.
2006: Andrew Cathy becomes the first grandchild to enter the family business, operating a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Fla.
2012: Chick-fil-A surges pass KFC in sales in the United States to become the nation's No. 1 chicken chain.
2013: Dan Cathy promoted to chief executive officer and chairman. Truett Cathy becomes chairman emeritus.
Sept. 8, 2014: Truett Cathy dies early in the morning.
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