Charles Leiper Grigg

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Charles Leiper Grigg (1868 - 1948) was the inventor of Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime soda, better known by its later name, 7 Up. He invented the drink in October of 1929. Mr. Grigg became acquainted with the carbonated beverage business after moving to St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to inventing 7Up, Grigg had created an orange soft drink named "Whistle" for the Vess Soda Company. It is still made and sold in St. Louis.

A common urban legend about Charles Leiper Grigg is that he was an albino, and that the red dot on the bottle is supposed to represent his red eyes. In fact there are no official references to Grigg having been an albino, and in (black-and-white) photographs his eyes appear normally pigmented. Also, the 7-up logo with the red dot came into use in the 1970s, after Griggs had died.^[1]