Atlanta has always been a city of hustle, but long before tech bros and film studios, some of our sharpest minds were quietly building the future in garages, basements, and laboratories right here in the Peach State.
Here are six Atlanta-area inventors whose creations still touch your life—whether you’re sipping a Coke downtown or streaming music on your phone.
1. Dr. John S. Pemberton – Coca-Cola
Most people know the story: a pharmacist from Columbus who moved to Atlanta after being wounded in the Civil War. In 1886, while searching for a headache remedy, Pemberton (1831–1888) mixed coca leaves, kola nuts, sugar, and a secret blend of oils in a three-legged brass kettle in his Jacobs’ Pharmacy lab on Peachtree Street.
The result? Coca-Cola, originally sold as a “brain tonic” for 5¢ a glass…