Middle School
Worksheets
Charles Elmer Hires - Inventor of Root Beer
Root Beer Invented
Reading Comprehension for May 16
It's been called, "The Honest Beer," "The Temperance Drink," and "The Greatest Health-Giving Beverage in the World." We know it as root beer. A pharmacist named Charles Elmer Hires invented this soft drink over one hundred thirty years ago.
Hires worked in a drug store near his home as a clerk. At the age of sixteen, he moved to Philadelphia and became an apprentice in a drug store. In the evenings, he attended lectures at the College of Pharmacy. He worked hard and saved his money until he had $400. With this savings, he opened his own drug store. In 1872, he took a state licensing exam and was officially a pharmacist.
His discovery of root beer started on his honeymoon. At the hotel where he and his wife stayed, they were served an herbal tea made from berries, herbs, and roots. He obtained the recipe and sold it in his drug store. He continued to refine the recipe until he produced the first root beer on May 16, 1876. He brought his discovery to the Centennial Exposition in 1876 where it was widely received. By 1893, he was marketing his soft drink nationwide.
