“Coca-Cola first arrived here in England in 1900 when Charles Candler, son of The Coca-Cola Company founder Asa Candler, brought a jug of syrup with him on a visit from the US to England. It was first sold in the UK on 31 August 1900 but didn’t go on sale regularly until the early 1920s, when it appeared at establishments around London, including Selfridges and the London Coliseum. Learn more about the history of our company at http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/faq/heritage/when-did-coca-cola-first-arrive-in-the-uk.html.
In 1886, when John S. Pemberton created the formula for his new drink, his spouse and bookkeeper, Frank M. Robinson, suggested the name Coca-Cola, believing that “the two Cs would look good in advertising.” He wanted to create a unique logo to go with it and experimented by writing the company’s name in luxurious Spencerian script, a form of penmanship popular at the time. Learn more about the history of the Coca-Cola logo at http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/125/history-of-coca-cola-logo.html.
Coca-Cola didn’t start as a medicine, but as a result of the invention of Dr. John S. Pemberton, a physician and druggist, in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. Learn more about the origins of Coca-Cola at http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/faq/heritage/is-it-true-that-cola-cola-started-as-a-medicine.html.”
History of Coca-Cola: 1886-1892 Atlanta Beginnings
It was 1886, and in New York Harbor, workers were building the Statue of Liberty. Eight hundred miles away, another great American symbol was about to be unveiled. Like many people who change history, John Pemberton, an Atlanta druggist, was inspired by simple wonder. One afternoon, he stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid, and when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacob’s Pharmacy. Here, the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed – this new drink was something special. So Jacob’s Pharmacy put it on sale for five cents (about 3p) a glass.
Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, named the mixture Coca-Cola and wrote it out in his distinctive script. To this day, Coca-Cola is written the same way. In the first year, Pemberton sold only nine glasses of Coca-Cola a day. A century later, The Coca-Cola Company has produced more than 10 billion gallons of syrup.
Over the course of three years, between 1888 and 1891, Atlanta businessman Asa Griggs Candler secured the rights to the business for a sum of about $2,300 (about £1,500). Candler would become Coca-Cola’s first president and the first to bring a real vision to the business and the brand.
