John J. McLaughlin was born near Enniskillen, Durham Region, Ontario, the eldest son of Mary Smith and Robert McLaughlin, the founder of McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car which became General Motors of Canada.
Known as "Jack", he completed high school in Oshawa, Ontario, where he then became a pharmacist apprentice, before attending the Ontario College of Pharmacy in Toronto, and graduating in 1885. He did postgraduate study in pharmacy in New York City, worked as a pharmacy dispenser, and later managed one of the largest pharmacies in Brooklyn.
Because of the long-held belief in the health benefits of natural mineral waters, by the late 1880s a carbonated beverage industry had developed. With the addition of flavourings, they were increasingly consumed for pleasure, and often this was at drugstores.

Return to John J. McLaughlin Autograph Profile