by Bruce Wells | Jul 20, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
July 21, 1935 – “Diamond Glenn” McCarthy strikes Oil –
Glenn H. McCarthy struck oil 50 miles east of Houston in 1935, extending the already prolific Anahuac field. The well extended by three miles to the north of the already productive Anahuac field, which McCarthy had earlier discovered. The well was the first of many for the Texas independent producer who would discover 11 Texas oilfields by 1945. He was known as “Diamond Glenn” by 1950, when his estimated worth reached $200 million ($2.8 billion in 2026). (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Jul 14, 2026 | Petroleum Pioneers
Texas independent producer “rocketed into the national imagination in the late 1940s.”
As giant oilfield discoveries created Texas millionaires after World War II, people started calling “Diamond Glenn” McCarthy the reigning king of the wildcatters. Some historians have said a $21 million hotel McCarthy opened in 1949 put Houston on the map.
Glenn H. McCarthy’s petroleum career began with a 1935 well 50 miles east of Houston when he and partner R.A. Mason completed their No. 1 White well with production of almost 600 barrels of oil a day. The well extended by three miles to the north of the already productive Anahuac field — which McCarthy had earlier discovered.
After discovering 11 oil and natural gas fields in Texas, Glenn McCarthy appeared on the February 13, 1950, cover of TIME.
By 1945, McCarthy had gone on to discover 11 new fields and extend others. In Brazoria County one year later, he drilled the highest-pressure gas well drilled to that time. Described as a “bombastic, plucky Irishman best known for building the famous Shamrock Hotel,” the Texas independent oilman would be featured on the February 13, 1950, cover of TIME. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Mar 16, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
March 16, 1911 – Pegasus Trademark takes Flight –
A Vacuum Oil Company subsidiary in Cape Town, South Africa, trademarked a flying horse logo inspired by Pegasus of Greek mythology. Based in Rochester, New York, Vacuum Oil had built a successful lubricants business long before gasoline was a branded product. (more…)
