James Vernor, Sr. (April 11, 1843 – October 29, 1927) was an American

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and

druggist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

who began selling

Vernors Vernors is an American brand of ginger ale owned by Keurig Dr Pepper that was first served in 1866 by James Vernor, a Detroit pharmacist. History Vernors is the oldest surviving ginger ale, according to the company it was first served to t ...

brand

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

in 1880.

Biography

Vernor was born in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, moving with his parents to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in his youth. While employed at Higby and Sterns' Drug Store in Detroit, Vernor began experimenting with ginger ale. After the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he enlisted and served with the 4th Michigan Cavalry from 1862–1865, becoming a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

before being discharged. According to a discredited company legend, when Vernor left to serve in the war he had stored his ginger ale syrup base in an oak cask. After returning four years later, he opened the keg and found the drink made from it had changed through the aging process. He declared it "Deliciously different," which became the drink's motto. However, in a 1936 interview, son James Vernor, Jr. suggested that his father did not develop the

Vernors Ginger Ale Vernors is an American brand of ginger ale owned by Keurig Dr Pepper that was first served in 1866 by James Vernor, a Detroit pharmacist. History Vernors is the oldest surviving ginger ale, according to the company it was first served to t ...

formula until after the war, a fact confirmed both by former company president James Vernor Davis in a 1962 interview and the 1911 trademark application on "Vernor's" as a name for ginger ale and extract. According to it Vernors did not enter commerce until 1880. In 1896, Vernor and his son James Vernor, II closed the drugstore and together opened a soda fountain on Woodward Avenue south of Jefferson Avenue near the riverfront ferry docks, and organized a

manufacturing plant A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an Industry (manufacturing), industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with Outline of industrial machinery, machinery, where workers manufacturing, manuf ...

. By 1915, they expanded operations to include a

bottling company A bottling company is a commercial enterprise whose output is the bottling of beverages for distribution. Many bottling companies are franchisees of corporations such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo who distribute the beverage in a specific geograph ...

, which widely manufactured Vernor's Ginger Ale. Vernor was one of the original members of the Michigan Board of Pharmacy, formed in 1887, and held License No. 1 throughout his career. Vernor also served on the

Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a location ...

for 25 years. Vernor died in

Grosse Ile, Michigan Große or Grosse is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Demetrius Grosse *Maurice Grosse *Katharina Grosse *Ben Grosse *Hans-Werner Grosse *Heinz-Josef Große *Julius Grosse Julius Waldemar Grosse (25 April 1828 – 9 ...

October 29, 1927, at age 84 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

and

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

. He is buried at

Woodmere Cemetery Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group. Histo ...

in the southwest section of Detroit, Michigan.Woodmere Cemetery
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernor, James 1843 births 1927 deaths American drink industry businesspeople Burials in Michigan Deaths from influenza Businesspeople from Albany, New York Businesspeople from Detroit Union Army officers Deaths from pneumonia in Michigan Keurig Dr Pepper people American pharmacists

Biography

See also

References