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South Florida’s no stranger to the sun. As much as we love the sunshine, even in the 1940s, one man in the U.S. felt the need to protect skin from the sun’s rays.
Benjamin Green was a pharmacist in Miami who was an airman in World War II. Seeing the lack of protection available to his fellow soldiers, Green got to work when he returned to Miami.
Mixing red veterinary petrolatum with cocoa butter and coconut oil, Green created the first consumer sunscreen. He later used this formula and the help of investors for what would become Coppertone in 1944.
– Rebecca Hastings, The 100 Companies