Betty Crocker

Betty Crocker began as a simple feminine signature on the bottom of a letter from a Minneapolis flour company in 1921 and grew into a name so recognizable that, in 1945, Fortune magazine called her the second best-known woman in America—superseded only by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The ranking was especially impressive, considering that Betty never actually existed.

Betty Crocker was created out of the belief that homemakers did not want to correspond with a man when they sent letters with baking questions to the Washburn Crosby Company (the forerunner to General Mills, which was incorporated in 1928). Samuel Gale, working in the company’s in-house advertising department, believed that women wanted replies from another woman on domestic matters. The surname “Crocker” was chosen in honor of William G. Crocker, a recently retired director of the company, and “Betty” for its all-American wholesomeness.