Benjamin Franklin Thomas (1860–1914) was a Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

 businessman and industrialist who pioneered the development of the Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 bottling

Bottle

A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...

 industry and founded the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

In 1899 Benjamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead

Joseph Whitehead (Coca-Cola bottler)

Joseph Whitehead was a lawyer, who, along with Benjamin Thomas and John Thomas Lupton, obtained exclusive rights from Asa Candler to bottle and sell Coca-Cola.-Early life:Whitehead was born in Oxford, Mississippi in the year 1864...

 traveled from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 to meet with Asa Griggs Candler

Asa Griggs Candler

Asa Griggs Candler was an American business tycoon who made his fortune selling Coca-Cola. He also served as the 44th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia from 1916 to 1919...

, the owner of Coca-Cola, in hopes of securing the rights to bottle the beverage. At the time bottling Coca-Cola was seen as an untested industry, and Candler had concerns over maintaining the quality of his product. Eventually he sold the rights to bottle Coca-Cola in the United States to Thomas and Whitehead for one dollar

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

.

In 1894 Benjamin married Ann Taylor Jones. They had no children. In 1904 they invited their nephew George Hunter

George Hunter (Coca-Cola bottler)

George Thomas Hunter was a businessman and philanthropist in Chattanooga, Tennessee who inherited and ran the Coca-Cola Bottling empire from his uncle Benjamin Thomas. Hunter's most notable philanthropic efforts is the creation of The Benwood Foundation and The Hunter Museum of American Art...

 to move to Chattanooga to learn the bottling business and to be their heir

Inheritance

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...

. In 1944 George Hunter established the Benwood Foundation

Benwood Foundation

The Benwood Foundation is a charitable foundation created in 1944 by George Hunter in honor of his uncle, Benjamin Thomas who pioneered the Coca-Cola bottling industry and founded the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. George Hunter was the heir of Benjamin Thomas, and much of the wealth related to the...

as a perpetual tribute to Benjamin.