Augustin Thompson
B. November 25, 1835 – d. June 8, 1903
Augustin Thompson was a physician, business person and philanthropist who created the Moxie soft drink and the company that manufactures it.
Thompson was born in Union Maine on November 25, 1835. In the early part of the American Civil War, he joined the Union Army forces with Company G of the 28th regiment of the Maine Volunteer Infantry. Obtaining the rank of captain, he went on to see action in the Siege of Port Hudson in Donaldsonville, Louisiana as well as minor action at Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida.[1] Later in life he was granted the rank of lieutenant colonel through an act of Congress.[2][3]
After the war ended, he went on to attend Hahnemann Homeopathia College and graduated with honors at the head of his class. Upon graduation he settled in Lowell, Massachusetts where he set up his medical practice in 1867. By 1885, Dr. Thompson's practice had become highly successful and he was said to have one of the largest patient lists in the New England.[2][3] However it was at this time he gave up his $15,000 (over $350,000 by 2009) to begin the marketing and sale of his Moxie nerve tonic.[2][3]
The tonic, based upon his original patent medicine "Nerve Food" created in 1876, was first released as a syrup in 1884. In 1885, he received a trade mark for the term and released it as a carbonated beverage. (Full article...)
- ^ ""The Road To The Sea" Preserved: The 28th Maine Infantry at Donaldsonville, La". Department of the Maine Secretary of State. 2000-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ a b c Frank N. Potter (1981). The Moxie Mystique. Donning Company. ISBN 089865145X.
- ^ a b c Frank N. Potter (1987). The Book of Moxie. Collector Books. ISBN 0891453482.