CNHS - Abraham Gesner - Inventor of Kerosene ~ Nova Scotia - Canadian National Historic Sites on Waymarking.com

Abraham Pineo Gesner (May 2, 1797 - April 29, 1864) was a Canadian physician and geologist who invented kerosene. Although Ignacy Lukasiewicz developed the modern kerosene lamp, starting the world's oil industry, Gesner is considered a primary founder. Gesner was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. He died in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Gesner's research in minerals resulted in his 1846 development of a process to refine a liquid fuel from coal. His new discovery, which he named kerosene, but which was frequently referred to as coal oil, burned cleaner and was less expensive than competing products, such as whale oil. In 1850, Gesner created the Kerosene Gaslight Company and began installing lighting in the streets in Halifax and other cities. By 1854, he had expanded to the United States where he created the North American Kerosene Gas Light Company at Long Island, New York. Demand grew to where his company’s capacity to produce became a problem, but the discovery of petroleum, from which kerosene could be more easily produced, solved the supply problem.

Abraham Gesner continued his research on fuels and wrote a number of scientific studies concerning the industry including an 1861 publication titled, "A Practical Treatise on Coal, Petroleum and Other Distilled Oils," which became a standard reference in the field. Eventually, Gesner's company was absorbed into the petroleum monopoly, Standard Oil and he returned to Halifax, where he was appointed a Professor of Natural History at Dalhousie University.

Gesner himself was humble about his contribution to the development of the petroleum industry. In his 1861 work referenced above, he said that "the progress of discovery in this case, as in others, has been slow and gradual. It has been carried on by the labors, not of one mind, but of many, so as to render it difficult to discover to whom the greatest credit it due." *

In 1933, Imperial Oil Ltd., a Standard Oil subsidiary, erected a memorial in Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax to pay tribute to Gesner's contribution to the petroleum industry. In 2000, he was honored by the placement of his image on a postage stamp by Canada Post.

Text from English Plaque: ABRAHAM GESNER Physician, geologist and author of scientific works. Educated in Nova Scotia and in England, he practised medicine in Nova Scotia and turned his attention to geology and scientific experiments. He made a geological survey of New Brunswick, 1838-42, and of Prince Edward Island, 1846. He first refined kerosene, 1846, and promoted its manufacture in New York, 1853-63. His natural history museum, established in Saint John, 1842, became a part of the collections which later formed the New Brunswick Museum.
Born at Cornwallis, N.S. 2nd May 1797
Died at Halifax, N.S. 29th April 1864

* "The Industrial Revolutionaries--The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914" by Gavin Weightman, Grove Press, 2009

Classification: National Historic Person Province or Territory: Nova Scotia Location - City name/Town name: Chipman Corner Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link] Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: Not listed

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