Glimpses of Canadian History, one vibrant moment at a time
  • Home
  • Admin
  • About me

Abraham Gesner and the Development of Kerosene

  • By Susanna McLeod
  • Feb-18-2016
  • Fascinating Canadian History
  • Comments Off on Abraham Gesner and the Development of Kerosene

Expensive whale oil was used in lamps to provide light. Geologist Abraham Gesner developed the affordable petroleum fuel Kerosene to illuminate dark nights.

Kerosene: A Fuel for Motors, Lamps and Heaters

According to the Gage Canadian Dictionary, kerosene is composed of “a mixture of hydrocarbons, usually produced by distilling petroleum.” The flammable liquid was developed by Abraham Gesner, a geologist, physician and professor from Nova Scotia.

Kerosene Lamp to light the dark night

Kerosene Lamp to light the dark night

In the very early 1800s, a young boy named Abraham Gesner loved to explore the shoreline of the Bay of Fundy, collecting fossils and rocks. Born on May 2, 1797 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia to Loyalist parents, the youngster was “teaching himself the science of geology,” said the Nova Scotia Museum in “Fossils of Nova Scotia”. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of the earth’s physical composition for Gesner.

From Sailor to Physician, Then Back to Geology

Working aboard vessels in the Caribbean and West Indies for three years, Gesner was twice shipwrecked by the time he was 21. Turning his keen mind to a different vocation, Gesner studied scientific experiments and medical arts in London, England, becoming a physician. Practicing in Nova Scotia, Gesner moved to New Brunswick in 1837 and changed his career to his childhood passion of geology. A year later at age 41, Gesner was appointed the Provincial Geologist of New Brunswick, a post he kept until 1842 when provincial money ran out. The head geologist was an avid gatherer of natural history specimens and unusual items, building a broad and fascinating collection of minerals, fossils and rocks. “He tried to persuade the government to purchase his collection for the Saint John Mechanics’ Institute,” noted “History” of the New Brunswick Museum, but “when that did not happen he opened his museum to the public.”

The Gesner Museum in Saint John opened on April 5, 1842, making history as the first museum in Canada. The scientist had been funding his geological surveys with money from his own pocket and loans (when provincial funding dried up), and he hoped he would recoup the money through admissions to the museum. The plan did not work. “Those to whom he owned money eventually took over his collection in lieu of payment,” said Nova Scotia Museum. The new owners passed the museum on to the Mechanics Institute in 1846 and it later became the basis of the New Brunswick Natural History Museum collection.

Gesner Found Bituminous Mineral Albertite

Surveying the geology of New Brunswick from 1838 to 1842, Gesner also surveyed Prince Edward Island in 1846. One of his finds in New Brunswick was Albertite, a bituminous mineral resembling asphalt. Gesner recorded the mineral but did not thoroughly examine his mineral find at first.

Three Patents for Kerosene

In 1846, Abraham Gesner “developed a refining process that transmuted coal, natural tar, and eventually oil into an

Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner

Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner

illuminating fuel which he called kerosene,” said the Petroleum History Society in “Canadian Beginnings.” The new petroleum fuel was welcomed as a more affordable replacement for the expensive whale oil burned in lamps to light the dark nights. (Whale oil sold for $2.50 a gallon in the mid-1800s, according to the Petroleum History Society.) Immigrating to New York City in the United States in 1853, Gesner and several partners joined to open the Asphalt Mining and Kerosene Gas Company. Polishing his process of producing kerosene, Gesner was issued three patents in June 1854.

Living with his family in Brooklyn, New York, Gesner wrote scientific reports and books about the petroleum industry, his most impressive work written in 1861, titled “A Practical Treatise on Coal, Petroleum and Other Distilled Oils.” An inventor as well, Gesner created compressed coal-dust briquettes, a process for asphalt road paving and a machine that insulated electric wire. Gesner was offered a job in 1863 as a professor of chemistry by Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Accepting the position, Gesner was not long in the job – he died on April 29, 1864.

The Gesner Medal

The Atlantic Geoscience Society instituted the Gesner Medal in Abraham Gesner’s honour, the first medal awarded in 1993. The Gesner Medal is given “to a person, who has, through his or her own efforts, developed and promoted the advancement of geoscience in the Atlantic Region in any field of geology and,” according to Graham Williams in “History” of The Atlantic Geoscience Society, “whose contributions are of such significance that they have made an impact outside of our area.”

Abraham Gesner was recognized twice by Canada Post for his work, the first stamp, titled “Kerosene, 1846,” issued on June 17, 1988 in the “Canada Day – Science and Technology, Canadian Innovations in Energy, Food, Research and Medicine.” The second stamp was part of the “Millenium Collection: Fathers of Innovation” issued on March 17, 2000 and titled “Abraham Gesner: Father of the Oil Industry.”

Considered a founding father of the oil industry for his geological findings and striking developments, Gesner’s work improved and brightened the lives of Canadians.

Sources:

  • “Abraham Gesner,” Fossils of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Museum Accessed April 29, 2011
  • “History,” New Brunswick Museum Accessed April 29, 2011
  • “Canadian Beginnings,” Petroleum History Society Accessed April 29, 2011
  • Williams, Graham, “History,” The Atlantic Geoscience Society Accessed April 29, 2011

This article first appeared on Suite101.com in April, 2011.  Copyright Susanna McLeod

 

Comments

← Previous Post Next Post →

Categories

  • Fascinating Canadian History
  • Those Canadian Women, they got this

Search:

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
About This Site

A cras tincidunt, ut tellus et. Gravida scel ipsum sed iaculis, nunc non nam. Placerat sed phase llus, purus purus elit.

Archives Widget
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
Categories
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Jobs & Lifestyle
Search

Powered by WordPress  |  Business Directory by InkThemes.