John pemberton invention

John stith pemberton family tree
John stith pemberton cause of death
John pemberton family net worth

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John Pemberton

It’s difficult to imagine a world without Coca-Cola, the most popular soft drink on earth. Pharmacist John Stith Pemberton created the original formula on May 8, 1886. Born January 8, 1831 in Knoxville, Georgia, Pemberton earned his medical degree at age 19 from the Reform Medical College of Georgia in Macon. He practiced some medicine and surgery early in his career, later opening his own drug store in Columbus, Georgia.

During the Civil War, Pemberton fought for the South, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He moved to Atlanta after the war where he began selling patent medicines and operated his own laboratory, the Pemberton Chemical Co. One of the products he sold was called “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca,” a drink made of wine and coca extract that was prescribed as a cure for nervous disorders, headache and other ailments. The beverage was very similar to Vin Mariani, an extremely popular coca-based drink developed in 1863 in Paris. When Atlanta forbid the sale of alcohol in 1885, Pemberton changed the form

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John "Doc" Pemberton and His Amazing Medicine

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

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John Stith Pemberton

John Stith Pemberton was 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,