Fact Finder - Food and Drink

Fact
The Invention of Coca-Cola
Category
Food and Drink
Subcategory
Drinks
Country
United States
Description
Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. Pemberton was looking for a cure for his morphine addiction, which he developed after being wounded in the Civil War. He created a tonic made from coca leaves and kola nuts, which he called 'Pemberton's French Wine Coca.' When prohibition laws were passed in Atlanta in 1885, he developed a non-alcoholic version of the syrup, which was first sold at Jacob's Pharmacy on May 8, 1886. It was mixed with carbonated water and sold for five cents a glass. Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, came up with the name and the iconic Spencerian script logo. While it was initially marketed as a 'brain tonic' to cure headaches and fatigue, it eventually became the most recognizable soft drink in the world.