F. Eugene Tubbs (July 31, 1935 – July 4, 1978) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as a Republican member for the 45th and 72nd district of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. Tubbs was born in

Dania Beach, Florida Dania Beach (Dania until 1998) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 31,723. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census ...

, the son of Margaret Tubbs. Tubbs served as a

flight surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...

on NASA’s

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

. He was a doctor in Brevard County, Florida, and worked in the emergency department at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He was credited as one of the creators of the sports drink

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

, along with four other people at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. In 1970, Tubbs was elected for the 72nd district of the

. He then represented the 45th district from 1972 to 1974. In the same year, he moved to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. In 1970 Tubbs sued the Stokely-Van Camp Company for $2 million as his share of the royalties from the development of Gatorade. The claim was later reduced to $9,000. Tubbs died in July 1978 in a plane crash in

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in northern Florida. It is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

, at the age of 42, along with his wife, Caroline.

References

1935 births 1978 deaths People from Dania Beach, Florida Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American physicians Accidental deaths in Florida Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1978 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States 20th-century Florida politicians {{US-physician-stub