Frank Mason Robinson
Frank Mason Robinson (1845 in Corinth, Maine – 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia), was an important early marketer of what became known as Coca-Cola.
As a young man he was in Iowa where he married Laura Clapp. In 1886 Frank Mason Robinson settled in Atlanta, where he was secretary and bookkeeper for the Pemberton Chemical Company.
Dr. John Pemberton was experimenting with a medicial formula which included coca leaves and kola nuts as sources of its ingredients. Frank Mason Robinson gave the formula the name Coca-Cola writing the name in Spencerian script which was popular with bookkeepers of the era. His script of Coca-Cola remains one of the most recognized trademarks in the world. The formula was introduced in May 1886 at the Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta. It sold 25 gallons the first year. The next year sales increased to 1049 gallons. In 1888 Dr. Pemberton sold the formula to Asa G. Candler. Coca-Cola was granted a charter in 1892 with Frank Mason Robinson as secretary and treasurer. He was responsible for the early advertising of Coca-Cola, the first ads appearing in newspapers in 1887. He retired in 1914, but remained one of the company's directors.
Frank Mason Robinson had a home in Druid Hills, an early suburb of Atlanta. He also had a 40-acre (160,000 m2) country home on the Cobb County banks of the Chattahoochee River. The property had been a southern fortification defending the railroad bridge. The property is currently the Frank Mason Robinson Nature Preserve. He owned six residences which were occupied rent free by family and friends.
Frank Mason Robinson taught a large Bible class at the First Christian Church of Atlanta. A large English stained glass window dedicated to his memory is above the pulpit of Peachtree Christian Church. He was a Republican in national politics but a Democrat in state and local politics.
References
- Knight, Lucian Lamar, A Standard History Of Georgia And Georgians, Lewis Publishing Co, 1917
- Pendergrast, For God, Country and Coca-Cola, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993
- Frederick Allen, Secret Formula, Harper Business, 1994