Which pharmacist invented Coca-Cola in 1886?

Pharmacist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886.

John Stith Pemberton was an American pharmacist and chemist who developed the original Coca-Cola beverage in Atlanta, Georgia, during 1886. He had previously created a wine-based drink called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, but temperance laws prompted him to develop a non-alcoholic alternative.

Pemberton experimented with coca leaves, kola nuts, flavorings, and syrup. The resulting drink was sold at soda fountains as a medicinal beverage and was promoted with claims that it could relieve headaches, exhaustion, and nervous problems. His bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, supplied the name “Coca-Cola” and designed the distinctive Spencerian script logo.

Pemberton did not build the global company that later carried the drink’s name. In poor health, he sold portions of the formula and business rights, and in 1888 Asa Griggs Candler acquired the remaining rights. Candler later founded The Coca-Cola Company, helping turn Pemberton’s local invention into a national brand.