Joe Biedenharn
| Joseph Augustus Biedenharn | |
|---|---|
Biedenharn (c. 1895)
|
|
| Born |
December 13, 1864 |
| Died | October 9, 1952 (aged 85) Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States |
| Resting place | Riverview Cemetery in Monroe |
| Occupation | Businessman; Philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Annie S. Biedenharn (married 1889-1936, her death) |
| Children |
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December 13, 1864
Vicksburg, Warren County
Malcolm S. Biedenharn
Henry A. Biedenharn, Sr.
B. W. Biedenharn
Joseph Augustus Biedenharn (December 13, 1866 – October 9, 1952) was an American businessman and confectioner credited in the summer of 1894 with having first bottled the soda fountain drink, Coca-Cola, at his wholesale candy company building in Vicksburg, Mississippi. As he expanded this business, he created a model of bottling-distributor franchises and built his company through this state, as well as Louisiana and Texas.
In 1913, he moved the manufacturing and bottling operations to Monroe, Louisiana, continuing to grow the business. With his son Malcolm and other entrepreneurs, in 1925 he bought a crop-dusting business. They added eighteen planes to the fleet, making it the largest private one in the world. They developed this business as Delta Air Lines, moving it later to Atlanta, Georgia. The Biedenharn family has had a philanthropic tradition in both Vicksburg and Monroe, making major contributions to historic, educational, recreational and charitable purposes.
Of German ancestry, Biedenharn was the oldest of seven sons and a daughter born in Vicksburg to Herman Henry Biedenharn (1824–1924) and the former Louisa Wilhemine Lundberg (1844–1913). Both were immigrants with their families following the Revolutions of 1848. Biedenharn's father and uncle owned a two-story brick building in downtown Vicksburg, which housed Herman's shoe store on one side and his son Joseph's candy company on the other.
After getting established, Biedenharn married Annie (1870–1936) in 1889. They had a daughter, Emma Louise (Emy-Lou), and three sons, Malcolm S. Biedenharn, Henry A. Biedenharn, Sr., and Bernard W. Biedenharn. Malcolm worked closely with his father in the family business and its various expansions into other fields.
Though Coca-Cola had been invented in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia by the pharmacist John S. Pemberton, it was not sold in bottles until Joseph Biedenharn developed the new procedure. He delivered the bottled drink to rural areas outside of Vicksburg, increasing the base of customers. He was not only the first bottler of the drinks but he established the new marketing technique of an independent network of franchise bottlers who distribute the drink. This has since grown to be worldwide in scope. Biedenharn had been advised by his father to "go into the nickel business", meaning to offer soft drinks for five cents each. Prior to 1900, many people would hold on to a dime but spend a nickel for pleasure.
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Wikipedia