This Week in Petroleum History: July 8 – 14

July 8, 1848 – Congress charters Gas Light Company –

Four days after the laying of the Washington Monument cornerstone, an Act of Congress established the Washington Gas Light Company, which manufactured “town gas” for lighting and heat. The new utility constructed giant tanks (gasometers) on 6.5 acres of gasworks in the D.C. neighborhood of Foggy Bottom. (more…)

Oil in the Land of Oz

Did L. Frank Baum’s 1880s oil business inspire the Tin Man?

 

The Tin Man in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can trace his roots to the earliest U.S. oilfields where L. Frank Baum operated a lubricant business before becoming the famous children’s book author. (more…)

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