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ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — On December 30, 1851, the Georgia man who would go on to found the Coca-Cola Company was born.

Asa Candler was a pharmacist from Villa Rica who was working in Atlanta in the late 1880s. He saw the potential for Coca-Cola to be used as something other than a medicine, which was its original purpose.

Candler bought the rights and formula to Coca-Cola from John Pemberton for just over $2,000 and started advertising it across the country as a soft drink.

Candler is credited with making Coca-Cola a household brand, and Coca-Cola made Candler a millionaire.

Eventually, he sold the company for $25 million and went on to serve as mayor of Atlanta in 1917.

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