A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History, January 6 – 12
January 7, 1864 - Oilfield Discovery at Pithole Creek - The once famous Pithole Creek oilfield was discovered in Pennsylvania with the United States Petroleum Company's well reportedly located using a witch-hazel dowser. The discovery well, which initially produced...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 30 – January 5
December 30, 1854 - First American Oil Company incorporates - George Bissell and six investors incorporated the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company of New York. Convinced oil could be found in northwestern Pennsylvania, Bissell formed this first U.S. petroleum exploration...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 23 – 29
December 23, 1919 - Home Gas Heating System - When most American homeowners were stocking up on wood and coal to heat their homes, Alice H. Parker patented a gas furnace system with adjustable ducts. The 1910 graduate of Howard University described her patent (no....
This Week in Petroleum History, December 16 – 22
December 17, 1884 - Fighting Oilfield Fires with Cannons - “Oil fires, like battles, are fought by artillery” proclaimed an article in The Tech, a student newspaper of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “A Thunder-Storm in the Oil Country” featured the...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 9 – 15
December 9, 1921 – Scientists discover Anti-Knock Properties of Leaded Gas - Working for General Motors, scientists Thomas Midgely Jr. and Charles Kettering discovered the antiknock properties of tetraethyl lead. They had spent years examining properties of knock...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 2 – 8
December 2, 1942 - Roosevelt creates Petroleum Administration for War - President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Petroleum Administration for War, "for the successful prosecution of the war and other essential purposes." The executive order came after oil and...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 25 to December 1
November 25, 1875 - Continental Oil sends Kerosene Westward - Convinced he could profit by purchasing bulk kerosene in cheaper eastern markets, Isaac Blake formed the Continental Oil and Transportation Company and began transporting kerosene refined in Cleveland,...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 18 – 24
November 18, 1847 -- Manufactured Gas illuminates U.S. Capitol - Lamps fueled by "coal gas" began replacing whale oil lamps in the U.S. Capitol. Manufactured gas distilled beneath the Capitol flowed through newly installed pipes into light fixtures, including...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 11 – 17
November 11, 1884 - Gas Companies merge into Con Edison - The largest U.S. gas utility company at the time was created in New York City when six gas-light companies -- using manufactured coal gas -- combined to form the Consolidated Gas Company. The Consolidated...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 4 – 10
November 6, 1860 - First Multi-Still Oil Refinery started in Pennsylvania - As the Civil War neared, construction began on America's first multiple-still oil refinery. William Barnsdall, who completed a oil well soon after the first U.S. oil well of August 1859, spent...
History of oil and Gas
Subscribe for Updates
Stay up to date with our latest articles about petroleum history and modern energy education programs by receiving our monthly email newsletter, "Oil & Gas History News."