Coca-Cola
John Stith Pemberton
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On May 8, 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Stith Pemberton — a Civil War veteran who had grown addicted to morphine from his wounds — carried a jug of his latest medicinal syrup to Jacobs' Pharmacy on Peachtree Street. Mixed with soda water, the caramel-coloured tonic sold for five cents a glass as a cure for 'sick headache, neuralgia, hysteria, melancholy, etc.' It was his bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, who named it Coca-Cola — for the coca leaves and kola nuts in the recipe — and wrote it in the flowing Spencerian script still on the label today.
The first year was a flop: about nine glasses a day, roughly $50 in sales against more than $70 in expenses. Pemberton, ill and in debt, sold off pieces of the business before dying in August 1888 — Coca-Cola wasn't even mentioned in his obituary.
The buyer was fellow pharmacist Asa Griggs Candler, who paid about $2,300 in total, incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892, and turned a pharmacy tonic into a marketing machine — coupons, newspaper ads, painted pharmacy awnings. By 1895 Coca-Cola was sold in every US state and territory, and syrup sales that had been measured in gallons were climbing toward the hundreds of thousands.
Frequently asked
Who invented Coca-Cola?
Atlanta pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, in 1886 — he created the syrup as a medicinal tonic; it was first served mixed with soda water at Jacobs' Pharmacy on May 8, 1886.
Why is it called Coca-Cola?
Pemberton's bookkeeper Frank Robinson named it for the coca leaves and caffeine-rich kola nuts in the recipe, and wrote the flowing script logo that is still used today.
How did Coca-Cola become so big?
Pemberton's first year lost money; businessman Asa Candler bought the rights for about $2,300, incorporated the company in 1892, and built it with relentless advertising — coupons, newspaper ads and painted pharmacy awnings.
Why it matters today
From nine glasses a day to nearly two billion servings a day — Coca-Cola invented modern brand marketing and became the most recognised trademark on the planet.
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