John Pemberton the alliterative sound, which was popular among other wine medicines of the time. Although the name refers to the two main ingredients, because of controversy over its cocaine content, The Coca-Cola Company later said that the name was "meaningless but fanciful". Robinson hand wrote the Spencerian script on the bottles and ads. Pemberton made many health claims for his product, touting it as a "valuable brain tonic" that would cure headaches, relieve exhaustion, and calm nerves, and marketed it as "delicious, refreshing, pure joy, exhilarating", and "invigorating". Soon after Coca-Cola hit the market, Dr. Pemberton fell ill and nearly bankrupt.
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