Asa Candler
| Asa Griggs Candler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 41st Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia | |
|
In office 1916–1919 |
|
| Preceded by | James G. Woodward |
| Succeeded by | James Lee Key |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 30, 1851 Villa Rica, Georgia |
| Died | March 12, 1929 (aged 77) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Elizabeth Howard (m. 1878; her death 1919) |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Coca-Cola |
Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 – March 12, 1929) was an American business tycoon who founded the Coca-Cola Company. He also served as the 41st Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919. Candler Field, the site of the present-day Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, was named after him, as is Candler Park in Atlanta.
Candler was born on December 30, 1851 in Villa Rica, Georgia. His father was Samuel C. Candler. He started his business career as a drugstore clerk and manufacturer of patent medicines. In 1888 he bought the formula for Coca-Cola from its inventor John Pemberton and several other shareholders for $550. The success of Coca-Cola was largely due to Candler's aggressive marketing of the product. Candler made millions of dollars from his investment, allowing him to establish the Central Bank and Trust Corp., invest in real estate, and became a major philanthropist for the Methodist Church. He gave a $1 million plus land gift to Emory University, a Methodist college, for the school to move from Oxford, Georgia, to Atlanta. This gift was influenced by Asa's younger brother, Methodist Bishop Warren Akin Candler, who became president of Emory. Candler also gave millions to what would later become Emory Hospital. The school's original library now houses classrooms and a reading room named for him, as well as in the school's chemistry department.
In 1906 he completed Atlanta's then-tallest building, the Candler Building, whose intricately detailed 17 stories still stands at Peachtree and Auburn. In 1912 the Candler Building in New York opened.
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