John Pemberton

Also known as John Stith Pemberton, John S. Pemberton, John S Pemberton

American pharmacist, inventor of Coca-Cola (1831-1888)

AI overview

John Pemberton was an American pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola in 1831, creating one of the world's most iconic beverages. His invention matters because it became a hugely successful product that shaped popular culture and the beverage industry for generations to come.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Knoxville
Place of death: Atlanta
Occupation: businessperson
Educated at: Wesleyan College
Languages spoken: English language
Notable work: Coca-Cola
Military branch: Confederate States Army
Image: John Pemberton.jpg
Residence: Rome

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Commons category: John Pemberton
date of birth: 1831-07-08
date of death: 1888-08-16
cause of death: stomach cancer
manner of death: natural causes
name in native language: John Pemberton
partner in business or sport: Asa Griggs Candler

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Encyclopedic overview

John Stith Pemberton (July 8, 1831 – August 16, 1888) was an American pharmacist, chemist, and Confederate States Army officer who is best known as the inventor of Coca-Cola. On May 8, 1886, he developed an early version of a beverage that would later become Coca-Cola, but sold the rights to Asa Griggs Candler for roughly 2,300 ($79,946.31 in 2026) dollars shortly before his death in 1888.

Pemberton suffered from a sabre wound sustained in April 1865, during the Battle of Columbus. His efforts to control his chronic pain led to morphine addiction. In an attempt to curb his addiction he began to experiment with various painkillers and toxins. The development of an earlier beverage blending alcohol and cocaine led to the recipe that later was adapted to make Coca-Cola.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Pemberton” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.