Learn the History of Coca-Cola and Its Inventor, John Pemberton

Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for reminding us that on May 29, 1886, American chemist John Stith Pemberton began to advertise Coca-Cola.
By the way, when I was stationed at Fort Benning, I briefly dated a young woman whose parents were the owners of the Pemberton Tea Room which was the home of John Stith Pemberton and his family, 1855-60.

How Coca Cola Started, Grew & Became $180 Billion Company
"John S. Pemberton first produced the drink, Coca-Cola in 1866.
It is quite interesting that one of the highly purchased beverages in the world, with about 1.9 million servings sold daily, was initially created as an alternative to morphine, a pain reliever.
Pemberton was a colonel in the confederate during the American Civil war as well as a pharmacist. He sustained a saber injury from the war in April 1865 and was prescribed morphine to relieve his pain. Pemberton soon realized that he was becoming addicted to the morphine and decided to prepare an alternative that did not contain morphine. To achieve this, he experimented with different pain relievers.
After a few trials, Pemberton came up with an alcoholic wine that he called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. This drink was a mix of cocaine extracted from coca leaves and caffeine from kola nut. Pemberton registered this French wine in 1885..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3otXGXobvl8


Images:
1. John Stith Pemberton
2. This Greek revival-style cottage, at 11 Seventh Street in Columbus, was occupied by John Stith Pemberton and his family, 1855-60. Pemberton, a druggist in Columbus and later Atlanta, was the originator of Coca-Cola. The apothecary, once the kitchen, houses unique Coke memorabilia.
3. Coca-Cola drinks have appeared in a variety of bottle shapes and sizes over the years, settling finally into its distinctive "hobbleskirt" bottle (far left) in 1916.
4. John Stith Pemberton based "Pemberton's French Wine Coca," a drink that was very popular in Atlanta, on Vin Mariani, a French beverage formulated by Mariani & Company of Paris.

Biographies
1. georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/john-stith-pemberton-1831-1888
2. moas.org/John--Doc--Pemberton-and-His-Amazing-Medicine-1-17.html

1. Background from {[https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/john-stith-pemberton-1831-1888]}
John Stith Pemberton (1831-1888) the inventor of the Coca-Cola beverage. In his day Pemberton was a most respected member of the state's medical establishment, but his gift was for medical chemistry rather than regular medicine. He was a practical pharmacist and chemist of great skill, active all his life in medical reform, and a respected businessman. His most enduring accomplishments involve his laboratories, which are still in operation more than 125 years later as part of the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Converted into the state's first testing labs and staffed with Pemberton's hand-picked employees, these labs almost single-handedly eliminated the sale of fraudulent agricultural chemicals in the state and ensured successful prosecution of those who tried to sell them.

Early Life and Career
Born on January 8, 1831, in Knoxville, in Crawford County, Pemberton grew up and attended the local schools in Rome, where his family lived for almost thirty years. He studied medicine and pharmacy at the Reform Medical College of Georgia in Macon, and in 1850, at the age of nineteen, he was licensed to practice on Thomsonian or botanic principles (such practitioners relied heavily on herbal remedies and on purifying the body of toxins, and they were viewed with suspicion by the general public). He practiced medicine and surgery first in Rome and its environs and then in Columbus, where in 1855 he established a wholesale-retail drug business specializing in materia medica (substances used in the composition of medical remedies). Some time before the Civil War (1861-65), he acquired a graduate degree in pharmacy, but the exact date and place are unknown.
The analytical and manufacturing laboratories of J. S. Pemberton and manufacturing laboratories of J. S. Pemberton and Company of Columbus were unique in the South. "We are direct importers," the company claimed, "manufacturing all the pharmaceutical and chemical preparations used in the arts and sciences." Established in 1860 and outfitted with some $35,000 worth of the newest and most improved equipment—some of it designed and patented by the company—it was "a magnificent establishment," an enthusiastic reporter from the Atlanta Constitution proclaimed in 1869 when the labs were moved to Atlanta, "one of the most splendid Chemical Laboratories that there is in the country."
Pemberton served with distinction as a lieutenant colonel in the Third Georgia Cavalry Battalion during the Civil War and was almost killed in the fighting at Columbus in April 1865. In 1869 he became a principal partner in the firm of Pemberton, Wilson, Taylor and Company, which was based in Atlanta, where he moved in 1870. Two years later he became a trustee of the Atlanta Medical College (later Emory University School of Medicine) and established a business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his own brands of pharmaceuticals were manufactured on a large scale. He also served for six years (1881-87) on the first state examining board that licensed pharmacists in Georgia.
Pemberton was "the most noted physician Atlanta ever had," according to the Atlanta newspapers, but he is best known for his expertise in the laboratory, where he perfected the formula for Coca-Cola.

The Origin of Coca-Cola
A few years before Coca-Cola began its spectacular rise to international acclaim, a drink known as Pemberton's French Wine Coca was extremely popular in Atlanta. Its fame spread throughout the Southeast, and the demand for the tasty beverage was high.
In 1885 a reporter from the Atlanta Journal approached the creator of French Wine Coca and asked him for a detailed analysis of the new drink. Pemberton replied, "It is composed of an extract from the leaf of Peruvian Coca, the purest wine, and the Kola nut. It is the most excellent of all tonics, assisting digestion, imparting energy to the organs of respiration, and strengthening the muscular and nervous systems." He explained that South American Indians considered the coca plant a sacred herb and praised its beneficial effects on the mind and body. With the aid of the coca plant, the Indians had performed "astonishing" feats, he said, "without fatigue." Pemberton then admitted that his coca and kola beverage was based on Vin Mariani, a French formula perfected by Mariani and Company of Paris, which since 1863 had been the world's only standard preparation of erythroxylon coca.
In 1886 the city of Atlanta introduced prohibition, which, among other things, forbade the sale of wine. Pemberton decided to make another version of his popular drink. He dropped the reference to wine in the name of the beverage, substituted sugar syrup for the wine, and coined the name "Coca-Cola" to identify his formula. Henceforth, he would call Coca-Cola the ideal temperance drink, both on the label and in advertising.
Realizing that he needed financial backing to market this nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca on a large scale, Pemberton formed a company for that purpose. He put his son Charles in charge of manufacturing Coca-Cola, and after prohibition ended in 1887, he again produced French Wine Coca. He announced that he would retire from active practice, sell his drugstores in Atlanta and elsewhere in the state, and devote all his time to promoting his beverages. Meanwhile, a group of businessmen responded to Pemberton's appeal to finance the new Coca-Cola Company. He was to receive a royalty of five cents for each gallon of Coca-Cola sold.
It was Pemberton's practice to organize a business as a copartnership and then convert it into a corporation. In March 1888, after being in business for eight months as a copartner, he filed the petition for incorporation of the first Coca-Cola Company in the Fulton County Superior Court. Five months later, on August 16, 1888, he died at his home in Atlanta.
On the day of Pemberton's funeral, Atlanta druggists closed their stores and attended the services en masse as a tribute of respect. On that day, not one drop of Coca-Cola was dispensed in the entire city. At sunup the following day, a special train carried his body to Columbus, where a large group of friends, relatives, and admirers laid him to rest. The Atlanta newspapers called him "the oldest druggist of Atlanta and one of her best known citizens."

2. Background from {[https://www.moas.org/John--Doc--Pemberton-and-His-Amazing-Medicine-1-17.html]}
John "Doc" Pemberton and His Amazing Medicine
Wed, Jun 28, 2017 at 4:55PM
By James "Zach" Zacharias, MOAS Senior Curator of Education and Curator of History

The early origins of Coca-Cola is an amazing story with a web of connections which turned a nerve and brain tonic into the most recognized soft drink brand in the world. The story begins on July 8, 1831, with the birth of John "Doc" Pemberton in Knoxville, Georgia. Pemberton was raised in Rome, Georgia and attended Reform Medical College in Macon. By 19 years old, he was a licensed chemist, but his career was put on hold as he served in the Confederate's 12th Cavalry Regiment. Pemberton was wounded in the “Battle of Columbus,” which was the last battle east of the Mississippi, and is often referred to as the closing battle of the war. He was struck across the chest by a saber and, like most wounded veterans of that era became dependent on morphine for relief. The conclusion of the Civil War brought about an explosion in the popularity and demand of patent medicines for wounded veterans such as Pemberton. Adding to the increase in the burgeoning patent medicine market in the late 19th Century was America’s new brand of capitalism tied to urbanization and individual economic prowess. The American Gilded Age was transforming a land of farmers into an urbanized society of factories, mills, and big city life. This created a frantic lifestyle in which the strains of economic booms and busts created new diseases characterized by psychosomatic symptoms fueling demand for new medicines.

After the war, “Doc as Pemberton was known, returned to chemistry and moved his wholesale drug operation to the Columbus, Georgia area. He specialized in medicines based on herbal remedies and became especially infatuated with the effects of the coca leaf of Peru and Chile. Further north, Atlanta was emerging out of the destruction of the Civil War and, rising like a phoenix, was in the process of reinventing itself. The city transformed into a place for fortune-seekers and soon became the center of the “New South” as entrepreneurs flocked to new opportunities. In 1870, Pemberton seized on this opportunity to moved his pharmaceutical operations to Atlanta. It would be here that “Doc” dedicated his life’s work and personal fortune to the creation of a perfect medicine of all time.

Patent medicines, with a long history of traveling medicine shows, muscle acts, and vaudeville selling techniques reached their zenith in the late 19th Century. Patent medicine is a confusing term’ in actuality there was no patent but only a trademark. Its origin goes back to England when a medicine was endorsed by the royal family as a “royal patent of favor.” Eventually, the concept was exported to North America. A true patent would require proof that the concoction, with its exotic ingredients, actually worked. Most did not. It was among this plethora of patent medicines that Coca-Cola would arise and change the world. The new flourishing mass marketing technique of the era, along with new and more efficient transportation modes, would help create a national and eventually a global market for Coca-Cola.

While trying to find a remedy for his own morphine addiction, John “Doc” Pemberton became infatuated with a patent medicine inspired by a French chemist, Angelo Marini, who concocted a tonic in 1863 known as “French Wine of Coco”. This remedy was made with Bordeaux wine mixed with coca leaves and contained 6mg of cocaine. It became the world’s most popular prescription having such effects as, reinvigorating your health, strength, vitality, and energy. “French Wine of Coco” became a medicinal drink known as Vin Marini. It became so popular, Queen Victoria and Pope Leo XIII endorsed it; in fact, Pope Leo gave the drink the Vatican Gold Medal Award and his image appeared on posters endorsing the wonders of its effects. Thomas Edison stated “it helped him work longer hours” and Ulysses S. Grant also touted its benefits as he worked on his final memoirs.

“Doc” Pemberton, working in his lab in 1885, created his own version of Vin Marini, and called it “Pemberton’s French Wine of Coco.” IT contained alcohol and extract from coca leaves. The Women’s Temperance Union helped pass prohibition legislation in July of 1887, and effectively banned alcohol in Atlanta. Now, Pemberton had to deal with a city dry of alcohol and an illegal medicinal drink. In response to this turn of events, “Doc” created a carbonated non-alcoholic version of his elixir which contained syrup, coca leaves, and cola nuts. This change in his formula would be the key to its eventual success.

Another important historical connection developing at this time is the rise of the local drug store and soda fountain shop. This business became the social heart of many towns and neighborhoods. It was a place where people could socialize and gather for gossip. “Doc” Pemberton used the local pharmacy to market and test his new medicinal soda fountain drink – now called “My Temperance Drink.” It was touted as a drink that could “soothe your stomach, rid you of your headache, and calm your nerves.” He also claimed that you could live between 120 and 150 years by taking his new elixir. In reality, it was a really good tasting beverage that had little effect on any ailment. Carbonated drinks were not new, vendors of the day used orange, grape, or cherry and added the fizzy carbonation to them. These drinks were usually popular in the South during the summer season. However, “My Temperance Drink” was a new drink with a new taste now using the traditional flavors. Delicious and refreshing!

Unfortunately for Pemberton, he was not a good marketer and it was decided to drop the name “My Temperance Drink.” “Doc’s” bookkeeper and new partner, Frank S. Robinson, came up with a new catchy name “Coca-Cola” and used the popular Spencerian Script to craft the famous logo that is still used today. Alliterations were popular at the time and had a nice ring. Robinson marketed the drink as a medicine and a really fresh new tasting fountain drink. In 1887, the first year in business, Coca-Cola sold 990 gallons of syrup. A gallon could produce 128 drinks. That translated into about 76,800 drinks sold. When all of the revenue and expenses were added up, Coca-Cola made a first-year profit of $510.00.

After a series of convoluted business transactions between Pemberton and his varied business partners, Coca-Cola was sold to Asa Griggs Candler. He became the sole owner in 1891 at a cost of $2,300.00. Asa, a traveling salesman by trade, saw the benefits of the new evolving mass marketing techniques. Candler began using coupons, billboards, catch phrases, and souvenirs to advertise the soft drink. In three short years after purchase, the 1893 annual report happily stated that Coca-Cola was sold in every state and territory in the Union. He increased the business tenfold and in 1919 sold the company for an amazing $25,000,000 dollars.

By 1915, Candler recognized that the future was in bottling Coke and a standardized bottle was needed. In Terra Haute, Indiana, the Root Glass Company created the world’s most famous bottle for the company. As a result, Coca-Cola became a worldwide phenomenon that endures today. They created a bottle with such a unique and innovated shape, it is immediately recognizable.

Pemberton’s whole life was dedicated to finding the perfect medicine. Instead, he created the perfect soda drink. If he had not sold his formula, the drink may have stayed in obscurity like the countless other patent medicines of the time. On August 16, 1888, at the ages of fifty-seven, John Pemberton passed away and left a legacy he would never enjoy. The newspaper’s notice of his death called John S. Pemberton “the oldest druggist of Atlanta and one of its best-known citizens.” Asa Candler “weeping fat crocodile tears” at his funeral, paid tribute to Pemberton as having the most lovable nature and many virtues."


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There is a great Coca Cola museum in Atlanta

Thank you for the very interesting share brother David