James Francis Johnston (born 31 August 1865) was an American businessman and the founder of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the first Coca-Cola franchisee. [1] Johnston was raised in Bradley County, Tennessee. [2] He was the son of Sarah Amelia Tucker and James Miller Johnston. [3] By the late 1880s, Johnston was engaged in business at Pocatello, Bingham, Idaho, with his brother-in-law James H. Bible, and his future brother-in-law John Guthrie Brown. The company was Bible, Brown, and Johnston and advertised as "Indian Traders." [4] Johnston returned to Tennessee and married Margaret Key on 9 January 1896. [5] In 1901, Johnston, along with Benjamin Thomas, began operations of the first Coca-Cola Bottling franchise in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving parts of Tennessee and other nearby locations. [1] Johnston died on 26 February 1930 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. [6]
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 87 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2020, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It produces Coca-Cola. The drink industry company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. The company's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.
Fort Oglethorpe was a United States Army post in the US state of Georgia. It was established in a 1902 regulation, and received its first contingent in 1904. It served largely as a cavalry post for the 6th Cavalry. During World War I, Fort Oglethorpe housed 4,000 German prisoners of war and civilian detainees. During World War I and World War II, it served as an induction and processing center. During World War II, it was a major training center for the Women's Army Corps.
Coca-Cola HBC AG also known as Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company or just Coca-Cola Hellenic is the world's third-largest Coca-Cola anchor bottler in terms of volume with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. Coca-Cola HBC's shares are primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange with a secondary listing on the Athens Stock Exchange. The company is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Coca-Cola HBC has been named the industry leader among beverage companies in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index and is also included in the FTSE4Good Index.
John Thomas Lupton (1862–1933) was an American lawyer, industrialist and philanthropist who along with Benjamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead, obtained exclusive rights from Asa Candler to bottle and sell Coca-Cola.
The Hunter Museum of American Art is an art museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The museum's collections include works representing the Hudson River School, 19th century genre painting, American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, early modernism, regionalism, and post-World War II modern and contemporary art.
Since its invention by John Stith Pemberton in 1886, criticisms of Coca-Cola as a product, and of the business practices of The Coca-Cola Company, have been significant. The Coca-Cola Company is the largest soft drink company in the world, distributing over 500 different products. Since the early 2000s, the criticism of the use of Coca-Cola products, as well as the company itself, escalated, with criticism leveled at the company over health effects, environmental issues, animal testing, economic business practices and employee issues. The Coca-Cola Company has been faced with multiple lawsuits concerning the various criticisms.
Letitia "Lettie" Pate Whitehead Evans was an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She was the first woman to be on Coca-Cola's board of directors.
Benjamin Franklin Thomas (1860–1914) was a Chattanooga, Tennessee, businessman and industrialist who pioneered the development of the Coca-Cola bottling industry and founded the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.
George Thomas Hunter (1886–1950) was a businessman and philanthropist in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who inherited and ran the Coca-Cola Bottling Company empire from his uncle Benjamin Thomas. Hunter grew up in Maysville, KY, but moved to Chattanooga in 1904 to live with his aunt and uncle. Hunter's most notable philanthropic efforts is the creation of The Benwood Foundation and The Hunter Museum of American Art. Hunter Hall at UT Chattanooga was posthumously named in his honor.
Paul Carter (1888–1979) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist in Chattanooga, Tennessee and nearby Lookout Mountain who, along with his father James Inman Carter and brother Garnet Carter, developed most of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee and Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Through marriage to his second wife, Ann Lupton Carter, Paul became the President over a large Coca-Cola Bottling Company territory. The Dinkler Hotel Corporation of Atlanta built the original Lookout Mountain Hotel in 1927; Paul Carter was chosen to run it; the building is now owned by Covenant College and named "Carter Hall" in Carter's honor.
The Lyndhurst Foundation is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based grant-making foundation organized in 1938 by Coca-Cola Bottling Company magnate Cartter Lupton. The Lyndhurst Foundation was the first private foundation in Tennessee, and it focuses on the enrichment and enhancement of the social, natural, and built environment in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding southeastern region.
Joseph Brown Whitehead (1864–1906) was a lawyer, who, along with Benjamin Thomas and John Thomas Lupton, obtained exclusive rights from Asa Candler to bottle and sell Coca-Cola.
Summerfield Johnston III, a.k.a. Skeeter Johnston, (1954-2007) was an American businessman and polo player.
Summerfield Johnston Jr., aka Skey Johnston, is an American businessman and polo player. He served as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Enterprises from 1991 to 2001.
John T. Lupton II was an American heir to a Coca-Cola bottling fortune, businessman and philanthropist.
Scott Livingston Probasco, Jr. was an American heir, businessman and philanthropist.
Between 1886 and 1959, the price of a 6.5 US fl oz (190 mL) glass or bottle of Coca-Cola was set at five cents, or one nickel, and remained fixed with very little local fluctuation. The Coca-Cola Company was able to maintain this price for several reasons, including bottling contracts the company signed in 1899, advertising, vending machine technology, and a relatively low rate of inflation. The fact that the price of the drink was able to remain the same for over seventy years is especially significant considering the events that occurred during that period, including the founding of Pepsi, World War I, Prohibition, The Great Depression, changing taxes, a caffeine and caramel shortage, World War II, and the company's desire to raise its prices.
Gillian Johnston is an American polo player and patron.