popcorn Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American food scientist and businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name which is now owned by Conagra Brands.

Orville Redenbacher was born on a farm in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907. At 12, he began to grow and peddle his own popping corn, which allowed him to save money for college. He graduated from Perdue University with a degree in agronomy and as a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agriculture-oriented fraternity.

Whole Grain Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Butter, Color Added (Annatto, Turmeric, Paprika), Natural Flavors, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E for Freshness).

Orville Redenbacher's

By 1965, Orville and his business partner Charles Bowman perfect their popcorn hybrid - it is light and fluffy, leaves hardly any unpopped kernels, achieves a 44:1 ratio in volume of popped to unpopped corn, and, of course, tastes great.

Orville Redenbacher's Ultimate Butter This is it, folks: The all-around best popcorn on our list - especially if you're all about the butter. The label reads popping corn, palm oil, salt, butter and natural flavor and colors. It's free of artificial preservatives, flavors and dyes to boot.

Orville Redenbacher's Original Yellow Gourmet Popcorn Kernels are the highest quality for popping on the stovetop, in your air popper, or in an electric popper. These 100% natural, Non-GMO Project Verified whole-grain and gluten-free original popcorn kernels are a delicious, yet wholesome snack.

At 12 years old, Orville begins to grow his own popping corn. It becomes his passion, and his first business, allowing him to save enough for college, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from Purdue University. Orville begins raising popcorn for the supermarket trade.

Corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, in what is now Mexico. Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. Fossil evidence from Peru suggests that corn was popped as early as 4,700 BC. Through the 19th century, popping of the kernels was achieved by hand, on stove tops.

Fun Facts About Popcorn

• Popcorn is over 5000 years old.
• The first commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in 1885.
• Nebraska produces the most popcorn in America, around 250 million pounds per year.
• Microwaveable popcorn was invented by Pillsbury in 1982.

French explorers wrote of Iroquois popping tough corn kernels in pottery jars filled with heated sand. The Iroquois nation spread throughout the Great Lakes region, so it's likely that settlers to upstate New York, Vermont and Quebec were the earliest European-American popcorn makers.

About a third of the 60,000 to 70,000 acres planted with popcorn in Indiana every year are growing for the Orville Redenbacher brand.