John Pemberton - Pharmacist

In 1886 prohibition law was enacted in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. John Pemberton a pharmacist from Atlanta rewrote and renamed his then popular "Pemberton's French Wine Coca". His Wine was sold by most of the city druggists.
Later that year; May 8, 1886 he introduced Coca-Cola. His formula still possessed the valuable side effects of the French Wine Coca but it was sweetened with sugar instead of wine. Some records say that John Pemberton made the concoction in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. Other reports indicate that Dr. Pemberton was well-educated for that time: first as a Thomsonian botanical doctor and later he received formal training in pharmacology. The drink was named after it's two "medicinal" ingredients, extracts of cocaine and kola nuts. The soft drink was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta for 5 cents.
The soft drink was marketed as a tonic which contained extracts of cocaine and kola nut until 1905. They sold about nine servings each day. Sales for that first year added up to a total of about $50. The draw back was that it cost Pemberton over $70 in expenses, so the first year of sales were a total loss. Asa Candler bought the formula for $2,300 in 1887. In 1892 Coca-Cola was incorporated. Because of the negative effects of cocaine, in 1903 the Coca-Cola company agreed to only use coca leaves that were "decocainized".