Above: Rumored to be the first coupon for Coca-Cola, from 1888.

Georgia and Entrepreneurship 

Georgia has a strong history of commercial success and innovation. Twenty Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the state, including: Home Depot, Aflac Insurance, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Southern Company (Georgia Power), United Parcel Service (UPS), Newell Rubbermaid, and SunTrust Banks. 

In May of 1886, the first Coca-Cola fountain drink was served in Atlanta. Later that month, Coke published its first advertisement. Initially created as a health tonic composed of 

kola nut and coca leaf extract, it was Asa Candler's vision to combine the syrup with carbonated water that propelled Coca-Cola to famed status. An episode of " Today in Georgia History" covers Robert Woodruff's contributions to the Coca-Cola company. 

Our career series Fast Forward has an episode on working at Coca-Cola in Atlanta.   

The growing Delta Airlines company merged with Chicago and Southern (C&S) Airlines on May 1, 1953. This merger gave Delta routes in the upper Midwest as well as internationally to the Caribbean. Two years later, the expanding airline introduced the 

"hub and spoke" system whereby Atlanta operated as the central hub city and other routes were the spokes on the wheel. An episode of " Today in Georgia History" discusses the growth of Delta and its early connection to Atlanta.  Our Fast Forward 

series has a great episode on  Delta's Atlanta hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport .

GPB Digital Library Available Now! 

The discussion about Georgia's large companies, their entrepreneurial roots, and their impact on Georgia's history are spread throughout the text. The importance of entrepreneurs is covered in a section concerning immigration in Georgia (622).

A summary of the founding of Coca Cola, along with a graphic of a bottling company in Cobb County during the 1920s, is combined with an episode of "Today in Georgia History" (430-431). Delta Airlines is mentioned during an explanation of the growth of metropolitan Atlanta after World War II (541). Major building supplier Home Depot is part of a larger discussion about significant events in Georgia's history since the 1990s (610).