March 29: On This Day in World History … briefly

Confederate Colonel John Pemberton, who was wounded in the American Civil War and became addicted to morphine, began a quest to find a substitute for the problematic drug. In 1885 at Pemberton’s Eagle Drug and Chemical House, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, he registered Pemberton’s French Wine Coca nerve tonic. Pemberton’s tonic may have been inspired by the formidable success of Vin Mariani, a French-Corsican coca wine, but his recipe additionally included the African kola nut, the beverage’s source of caffeine.

It is also worth noting that a Spanish drink called ‘Kola Coca’ was presented at a contest in Philadelphia in 1885, a year before the official birth of Coca-Cola. The rights for this Spanish drink were bought by Coca-Cola in 1953.

After Candler had gained a better foothold on Coca-Cola in April 1888, he nevertheless was forced to sell the beverage he produced with the recipe he had under the names ‘Yum Yum’ and ‘Koke’. This was while Charley Pemberton was selling the elixir, although a cruder mixture, under the name ‘Coca-Cola’, all with his father’s blessing. After both names failed to catch on for Candler, by the middle of 1888, the Atlanta pharmacist was quite anxious to establish a firmer legal claim to Coca-Cola, and hoped he could force his two competitors, Walker and Dozier, completely out of the business, as well.

John Pemberton died suddenly on August 16, 1888. Asa Candler then decided to move swiftly forward to attain full control of the entire Coca-Cola operation. Charley Pemberton, an alcoholic and opium addict unnerved Asa Candler more than anyone else. Candler is said to have quickly maneuvered to purchase the exclusive rights to the name ‘Coca-Cola’ from Pemberton’s son Charley immediately after he learned of Dr. Pemberton’s death.

One of several stories states that Candler approached Charley’s mother at John Pemberton’s funeral and offered her $300 in cash for the title to the name. Charley Pemberton was found on June 23, 1894, unconscious, with a stick of opium by his side. Ten days later, Charley died at Atlanta’s Grady Hospital at the age of 40.

In Charles Howard Candler’s 1950 book about his father, he stated: ‘On August 30 [1888], he Asa Candler became sole proprietor of Coca-Cola, a fact which was stated on letterheads, invoice blanks and advertising copy.’

Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.

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