William Keith Kellogg (born William Keith Kellogg; April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951) was an American business leader in food production who founded the Kellogg Company, which makes many well-known breakfast cereals. He was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and followed a vegetarian diet, which his church taught. He also founded the Kellogg Arabian Ranch, which breeds Arabian horses. Kellogg was a philanthropist and established the Kellogg Foundation in 1934 using a $66-million donation.

Early career

As a young businessman, Kellogg began selling brooms in his hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan. In December 1878, W.K. Kellogg was hired by George H. King, at the suggestion of James Springer White, also known as Elder White, to help manage a new broom factory in Dallas, Texas. In November 1879, W.K. returned home to assist his brother, John Harvey Kellogg, in managing the Battle Creek Sanitarium. The sanitarium, originally called the Western Health Reform Institute, was part of an early effort to promote health practices taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Kellogg family has English ancestors on their father’s side, tracing back to three brothers—Daniel, Joseph, and Samuel—from Braintree, Essex, England, who moved to the Connecticut Colony in the 17th century.

John Kellogg described the Sanitarium system as "a combination of health treatments including water therapy, light therapy, heat therapy, electrical therapy, movement therapy, diet, physical exercise, cold-air treatment, and health education."

The Kelloggs developed a method for making flaked cereal. Because of the business value of this discovery, W.K. wanted it kept secret. However, John allowed people at the sanitarium to watch the flaking process. One guest, C. W. Post, learned the method and used it to start his own company. That company later became Post Cereals and, eventually, General Foods, which earned Post his first million dollars. This upset W.K. so much that he left the sanitarium to start his own company.

Kellogg cereals

W.K. Kellogg and his brother John worked together to promote cereals, especially corn flakes (maize), as a healthy breakfast choice. In about 1897, they founded the Sanitas Food Company, which made whole-grain cereals. At that time, wealthy people often ate eggs and meat for breakfast, while poorer people consumed porridge, farina, gruel, and other boiled grains. The brothers later disagreed about whether to add sugar to their cereal. W.K. supported adding sugar, while John opposed it. In 1906, W.K. created the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, which later became the Kellogg Company.

In 1930, he founded the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and donated $66 million to it. His company was among the first to include nutrition labels on food products. He also introduced the first prize for children that came inside a cereal box. Kellogg once said, "I will invest my money in people."

During the Great Depression, Kellogg arranged for his cereal plant to operate four shifts, each lasting six hours. This allowed more people in Battle Creek to find work during that difficult time.

Arabian horse breeder

Kellogg had a long interest in Arabian horses. In 1925, he bought 377 acres (153 hectares) in Pomona, California, for $250,000 to create an Arabian horse ranch. He started with horses that came from earlier imports by Homer Davenport and W. R. Brown. Later, he bought many horses from the Crabbet Arabian Stud in England during the 1920s. The Kellogg ranch became famous in southern California for its horse breeding program and for weekly horse exhibitions open to the public. These events were often visited by Hollywood celebrities. For example, actor Rudolph Valentino used the Kellogg stallion "Jadaan" in his 1926 movie Son of the Sheik. A Kellogg employee, Carl Raswan, also rode as Valentino’s stunt double in some scenes.

In 1932, Kellogg gave the ranch, which had grown to 750 acres (304 hectares), to the University of California. In 1933, the ranch received some horses from the sale of Brown’s Maynesboro stud. During World War II, the ranch was used by the U.S. War Department and was called the Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount).

In 1948, the ranch was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1949, the land was given to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Later that year, the 813-acre (329-hectare) ranch and its horses were given to the State of California, with the condition that the Arabian horse herd must be kept. The ranch became part of the Voorhis unit of what was then called the California Polytechnic State College in Pomona. This area became known as the Kellogg Campus. In 1966, it was separated to form California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis.

The ranch was also the site of the W. K. Kellogg Airport, which should not be confused with the airport of the same name in Battle Creek, Michigan. The airport operated from 1928 to 1932 and was the largest privately owned airport in the country at that time.

Some of Kellogg’s land near Battle Creek was donated to Michigan State College and is now called the Kellogg Biological Station.

Death

Will Keith Kellogg died when he was 91 years old in Battle Creek, Michigan, on October 6, 1951, due to problems with his blood circulation. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery there.

Kellogg lived longer than most of his children but was survived by two of them, Karl Hugh, who died in 1955, and Elizabeth Ann, who died in 1966, as well as grandsons Norman Williamson Jr., who died in 2001, and Will Keith Kellogg II, who died in 2005.

Philanthropy

The Kellogg Foundation quotes W.K. Kellogg as follows: The charitable work of W.K. Kellogg is known for helping create California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and Kellogg College at Oxford.

In popular culture

Kellogg appears in "The Manual for Murder," episode 16 of season 12 of the Canadian television series Murdoch Mysteries, which aired on February 18, 2019. The character Kellogg is portrayed by actor Todd Thomas Dark.