by Bruce Wells | Apr 27, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
April 27, 1966 – Ariel Corporation founded –
After receiving a degree in mechanical engineering in 1954, former eighth-grade teacher Jim Buchwald founded Ariel Corporation in Mount Vernon, Ohio. “With little money to pay for a facility to house the tools, a room in the basement of the Buchwald family home is cleaned up,” according to the Ariel website. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Apr 20, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
April 20, 1875 – Improved Well Pumping Technology –
Pumping multiple wells with a single steam engine boosted efficiency in early oilfields when Albert Nickerson and Levi Streeter of Venango County, Pennsylvania, patented their “Improvement In Means For Pumping Wells.” The new technology used a system of linked and balanced walking beams to pump oil wells. (more…)
