GREAT AMERICANS--ROBERT W. WOODRUFF

Robert Winship Woodruff did not invent anything. He was famous for taking a simple sugar-water drink, Coca Cola, to the world. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1889, he worked as a truck sales manager for the White Motor Company, Before that, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. John Pemberton had invented a new carbonated soft drink flavored with malt syrup, called Coca-Cola. It sold for 5 cents a glass, "Coke" was first distributed in syrup form and sold only at soda fountains. Pemberton died in 1888, and Asa Candler purchased his secret formula and elevated Coca-Cola to a national brand. Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff, president of the Trust Company of Georgia, saw the company's potential and persuaded his son to invest in the Coca-Cola Company. In 1923, Woodruff became president of the now publicly-traded company.

Woodruff established a "Quality Drink" campaign, in which trained servicemen assisted fountain outlets in selling and serving Coca Cola. He saw vast potential for the bottling business and established quality standards for every phase of its operation. By 1929, Coca Cola sales in bottles had for the first time exceeded fountain sales. Woodruff would spend his 60 years as company leader introducing it to the world. Coke was a product no one needed; people had to be sold on it. He established a foreign department, which in 1930 became the Coca Cola Export Corporation and captured these foreign markets through promotions with innovative campaigns. During WWII General Dwight Eisenhower asked for Coke for his base in North Africa. After that Woodruff set up 64 bottling plants around the world to supply American troops. Following the war many of these wartime plants were converted to civilian use, permanently enlarging the bottling system and accelerating the growth of the company's worldwide business.

After 60 years at the helm of Coca Cola, in 1985, Woodruff died. The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, which he began in 1937, became his final legacy. They perpetually engage today in a substantial degree of philanthropic work, donating money to health care, education, economic development, art and cultural activities, and environmental conservation. No matter what else he is noted for, his greatest lifetime accomplishment was to make Coke a symbol of America around the world.