John Smith Pemberton
John Smith Pemberton was born on January 8, 1831. Early in his life he studied medicine and pharmacy at the Reform Medical College of Georgia in Macon. At the age of nineteen, he was licensed to practice Thomsonian, which relied heavily on herbal remedies to purify the body of toxins. This practice was viewed with suspicion and doubt by the general public. Before serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Third Georgia Cavalry Battalion during the Civil War, Pemberton received a graduate degree in medicine. In 1870 he moved to Atlanta, and two years later, in 1872, he established a business in Philadelphia, where his own brands of pharmaceuticals were manufactured on a large scale. According to the Atlanta newspaper, Pemberton was “the most noted physician Atlanta ever had.” Although his most well known and impressive accomplishment was creating coca cola. A few years before Pemberton established coca cola, he made a popular drink called “Pemberton’s french wine cola which was at high demand in the southeast. This was an alcoholic drink so when prohibition was introduced in 1886 (this was lifted in 1887) in atlanta, Pemberton was forced to change the recipe. He substituted wine for sugar syrup, and dropped the wine reference in the name and renamed it “coca-cola”. At this point in his life he was already 55 years old. From that point on he decide to just focus on his drinks. 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. Five months later, he died on August 16, 1888. After that the coca cola business exploded and is still extremely popular today.
John Smith Pemberton took 55 years before he started to start to pursue his american dream. His american dream was to own a drink company although he was busy with pharmaceutics most of his life. Finally after prohibition was lifted in 1887, and he was 56, he retired from pharmaceutics and focused on his drinks. He believed that what he was suppose to do in life was own a drink business, although he didn’t start to pursue this until he was 55. Although better late than never to live your american dream. It’s never too late to pursue your american dream and John Smith Pemberton is a perfect example of that.
John Smith Pemberton took 55 years before he started to start to pursue his american dream. His american dream was to own a drink company although he was busy with pharmaceutics most of his life. Finally after prohibition was lifted in 1887, and he was 56, he retired from pharmaceutics and focused on his drinks. He believed that what he was suppose to do in life was own a drink business, although he didn’t start to pursue this until he was 55. Although better late than never to live your american dream. It’s never too late to pursue your american dream and John Smith Pemberton is a perfect example of that.