F. Eugene Tubbs (July 31, 1935 – July 4, 1978) was an American politician. He served as a Republican member for the 45th and 72nd district of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

. Tubbs was born in

Dania Beach, Florida Dania Beach (Dania until 1998) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 31,723. Dania Beach is the location of one of the largest jai ala ...

, the son of Margaret Tubbs. Tubbs served as a flight surgeon on NASA’s

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was the second United States human spaceflight program to fly. Conducted after the first American crewed space program, Project Mercury, while the Apollo program was still in early development, Gemini was conceived in 1961 and ...

. He was a doctor in

Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county s ...

, and worked in the emergency department at the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He was credited as one of the creators of the

sports drink Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are non-caffeinated functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before, during and (especially) after training or competition. The eviden ...

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

, along with four other people at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. In 1970, Tubbs was elected for the 72nd district of the

. He then represented the 45th district from 1972 to 1974. In the same year, he moved to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

. In 1970 Tubbs sued the Stokely-Van Camp Company for $2 million as his share of the royalties from the development of Gatorade. The claim was later reduced to $9,000. Tubbs died in July 1978 in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistica ...

, at the age of 42, along with his wife, Caroline.

References

1935 births 1978 deaths People from Dania Beach, Florida Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 20th-century American physicians Accidental deaths in Florida Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1978 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature {{US-physician-stub