On 27 August 1859, near Titusville in north-western Pennsylvania, 'Colonel' Edwin Drake, a former railway conductor hired by a company that wanted to find oil for lamps, struck oil at a depth of 21 metres (69 feet), after drilling through rock with a steam engine and an iron pipe driven down to protect the hole from water. The well produced about 25 barrels a day, and led to a rush. Within a year, there were dozens of wells, the price of oil collapsed, and refining kerosene replaced whale oil for lighting. John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1870. The petroleum age had started, and the car, plastics and modern economies depended on it.
Before and after
- 6 May 1859Death of Alexander von Humboldt
- 22 May 1859Birth of Arthur Conan Doyle
- 24 June 1859The Battle of Solferino inspires the Red Cross
- 4 August 1859Birth of Knut Hamsun
- 27 August 1859Edwin Drake drills the first commercial oil well
- 1 September 1859The Carrington solar storm
- from 16 October 1859 to 18 October 1859John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
- 18 October 1859Birth of Henri Bergson
- 20 October 1859Birth of John Dewey
More in Science & technology
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.