In 1886, Coca-Cola was invented by a pharmacist named John Pemberton, otherwise known as "Doc." He fought in the Civil War, and at the end of the war he decided he wanted to invent something that would bring him commercial success.
Usually, everything he made failed in pharmacies. He invented many drugs, but none of them ever made any money. So, after a move to Atlanta, Pemberton decided to try his hand in the beverage market.
In his time, the soda fountain was rising in popularity as a social gathering spot. Temperance was keeping patrons out of bars, so making a soda-fountain drink just made sense.
And this was when Coca-Cola was born.