Coca Cola is one of the few brands known around the world. It is a popular drink for people living in the tallest mountains to deepest jungles. It has been around for 131 years and will probably be around for 131 more.

Coca Cola has a long and interesting history. The idea of soda started when the Texans found fizzy spring water. From that fizz soda was born. Coca Cola came out in 1892, but it wasn't till 1916 when saloons were banned that it became popular (Wiztel). At first It was sold as a nerve toxin, By John Pemberton, to stop depression. It had minor amounts of cocaine in it to give it that effect. When alcohol was banned they had to get rid of the cocaine because it contained alcohol (Witzel). That's when Coke  started selling for 5 cents at soda fountains. (Witzel).  We will always thank the Texans for giving us soda.

John Pemberton was the founder of Coca Cola. He was born in 1831 in Knoxville Georgia. He became a licensed pharmacist at nineteen. He married Ann Eliza Clifford in 1855 (Famous Inventors). He had a son named Charles who took over the company after his death. Later he was drafted into the civil war and suffered a major but not life threatening injury. To help with the pain he used morphine like most civil war veterans and he became addicted(Famous Inventors). This was the main reason he created Coca Cola. He later died of his morphine addiction in 1888.  On the day he died  Atlanta Georgia sold no soda.  

There Were many Coca Cola artists. Most of the artists were anonymous but there were two notable ones. One main artist was Norman Rockwell. From 1922 to 1935 he created 6 famous Coca Cola calendars and many other images. The most notable was called “Out Fishin”. The picture featured a boy with a fishing rod sitting on a dock with his dog and a bottle of Coke. Haddin H Sun Blossom was another famous painter. He created the Christmas image of Santa with a bottle of coke. His model for Santa ironically was a Jewish man, Caleb Prentiss. The Coca Cola logos were developed by many people including famous and  and unknown artists.

The 13th Amendment of Prohibition changed America from 1920 to 1933, by banning  intoxicating liquids. It was passed in January 1919 but was not active until 1920. Many states had started to enforce the idea before it was passed but Maine was the first to legally adopt the law. This law was extremely hard to enforce due to Bootleggers and Speakeasies. Bootleggers and speakeasies sold alcohol illegally. The cost  of jailing all the offenders was the downfall of Prohibition. The government could not afford the cost. One year after the great depression started Prohibition was repealed.  

After John Pemberton's death, Coca Cola changed dramatically. From the cocaine removed and the price increased from 5 cents to two dollars and fifty cents. Glass bottles were eventually switched to the plastic bottles and metal cans we use  today. The sugar and ingredients also have changed over the years, but we will always remember our first Coke.     

From the Texans who first gave us fizzy water to Coke's inventor, John Pemberton  Coca Cola boomed along with the changes and continues to sell worldwide today. This is the history and facts about Coca Cola.  

​

Works Cited

"Famous Artists Who Have Worked With Coca-Cola." The Coca-Cola Company. N.p., 01 Jan. 2012.  Web. 3 May 2017.

Hays, Constance L. "THE REAL THING by Constance L. Hays." Kirkus Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2017

History.com Staff. "Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 8 May 2017.

"John Pemberton." FAMOUS INVENTORS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back Ground

Red Bottled Coca Cola. Digital image. ThemesLTD. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 17.

​

​

​

​