he died july 31 1937 (born Aug 19, 1851).  Hires, a Philadelphia pharmacist, introduced root beer to the world in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.  This naturally effervescent beverage was billed as the 'National Temperance Drink.' The original formula included sarsaparilla, sasafras, ginger, pipsissewa, wintergreen, juniper and other flavor ingredients.