John Pemberton Fulton County enacted temperance legislation, Pemberton had to produce a non-alcoholic alternative to his French Wine Coca. Pemberton relied on Atlanta drugstore owner-proprietor Willis E. Venable to test, and help him perfect, the recipe for the beverage, which he formulated by trial and error. With Venable's assistance, Pemberton worked out a set of directions for its preparation. He blended the base syrup with carbonated water by accident when trying to make another glassful of the beverage. Pemberton decided then to sell this as a fountain drink rather than a medicine. Frank Mason Robinson came up with the name "Coca-Cola" for
John C. Pemberton John C. Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881), was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in the summer of 1863. Pemberton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the second child of John Pemberton, (1783–1847) and Rebecca Clifford, (1792–1869). He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1833, and graduated four years later, standing 27th in