It was on this very day back in 1888 that John Stith Pemberton, the man who brought Coca-Cola into existence, succumbed to stomach cancer.
Pemberton was only 57 years old when he passed away, but the beverage he dreamed up has endured far beyond the nineteenth century. The Atlanta-based corporation now carries a value of approximately 71 billion U.S. dollars. Still, for all its massive success in the modern era, the story behind this famously sweet drink has remarkably bitter beginnings.
Born on January 8th, 1831, in Knoxville, Georgia, Pemberton pursued his education in pharmacy and medicine at the Reform Medical College of Georgia. A couple of years before the Civil War broke out, he went on to establish a drug store in Columbus, Georgia.
Pemberton served as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Third Cavalry Battalion of the Georgia State Guard throughout the Civil War. And it was one devastating wartime incident that would ultimately plant the seed for what became Coca-Cola.
During the Battle of Columbus, Pemberton suffered terrible wounds. The excruciating pain from his injury drove him into a morphine addiction. Drawing on his chemistry background, he set out to develop a pain remedy that was free of morphine—one that could help not only himself but also others struggling to break free from the drug's grip.
What he eventually came up with was a concoction called "Pemberton's French Wine Coca," blending alcohol, damiana and kola nuts. But when the temperance movement brought about a ban on alcoholic beverages in 1886, he was forced to reformulate a non-alcoholic version of the drink.
By mixing his formula with carbonated water, he created what would become Coca-Cola and started selling it to the public.
Tragically, Pemberton never managed to overcome his morphine addiction, and mounting costs took their toll. He was left with no choice but to sell his company to business associates for a mere 1,750 U.S. Dollars in 1888—just a few months before he died on this day in 1888.