Johann Jacob Schweppe (, ) (16 March 1740 – 18 November 1821) was a German-Swiss watchmaker and amateur scientist who developed the first practical process to manufacture bottled carbonated mineral water, based on a process discovered by

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

in 1767. His company,

Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schw ...

, regards Priestley as “the father of our industry”.

Biography

Schweppe was born in

Witzenhausen Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany. It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat. The University of Kassel maintains a satellite campus in Witzenhausen at which i ...

in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. He moved to

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1765 to work as a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

and jeweler. He founded the Schweppes Company there in 1783 to produce carbonated water.

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 ...

was first produced by Schweppe in 1783 in Genf. At the time Schweppe was developing these products, the addition of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

to water was considered to have medicinal properties. In 1792, he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to develop the business there, but it was not successful and failed in 1795. However, Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

, began talking up the beverage, which started to become popular. Schweppe returned to Geneva and died in 1821. In 1831, King

William IV of the United Kingdom William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

adopted the beverage, enabling use the famous " by appointment to". Subsequently, carbonated water became very popular.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheppe, Johann Jacob 18th-century German inventors Clockmakers from the Republic of Geneva 1740 births 1821 deaths People from Witzenhausen Scientists from Hesse