This Week in Petroleum History: May 25 – May 31

by | May 25, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History

May 26, 1891 – Carbon Black Patent leads to Crayola –

Edwin Binney of New York City received a patent for his “Apparatus for the Manufacture of Carbon Black.” The process allowed the “manufacture lamp-black from oil in an improved and economical manner.” It created a fine, intensely black soot-like substance — a pigment blacker than any other available at the time. Its success led to a partnership with C. Harold Smith and another petroleum product, Crayola crayons. (more…)

Dinosaur Fever – Sinclair’s Icon

by | May 24, 2026 | Petroleum History Almanac

Marketing icon “Dino” and friends introduced children to wonders of the Mesozoic era courtesy of Sinclair Oil.

 

Harry Ford Sinclair established his petroleum company in 1916, making it one of the oldest continuous names in the U.S. energy industry. Appearing among other Sinclair Oil Company dinosaurs during the 1933-1934 World’s Fair in Chicago, “Dino” became a marketing icon whose popularity with children remains today. (more…)

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