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Questions and Answers
What was the total fee Benjamin Silliman, Jr. was promised for the outside research project in 1854?
Who was the New York lawyer involved in the venture related to 'rock oil'?
What was the occupation of James Townsend in the 'rock oil' venture?
Where did rock oil bubble up or seep into, in the area around Oil Creek?
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What was the profession of Benjamin Silliman, Jr.?
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What was the primary reason for Benjamin Silliman, Jr.'s anger towards the leaders of the investor group?
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Who was responsible for the creation of the oil industry?
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What was rock oil known as due to its supposed healing powers?
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What did George Bissell believe rock oil could alleviate?
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What did Professor Silliman's practical inclinations lead him to participate in?
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What did Silliman's involvement in the analysis give the project?
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What did the venture laid by Bissell and Silliman mark in the history of mankind?
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What was the turning point in establishing the petroleum business?
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What was the critical issue for the investors in the petroleum business?
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What led to the increased demand for artificial illumination during the industrial revolution?
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What drove entrepreneurial innovation in the late 1840s and early 1850s?
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What was the drawback of cheaper lighting fluids like camphene and 'town gas'?
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Who became obsessed with the potential of asphalt and collaborated with a Canadian, Dr.?
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What was the essential insight of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company?
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What was the significance of George Bissell's inspiration from an advertisement for rock oil medicine?
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What was the role of Edwin L. Drake in the birth of the American oil industry?
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What was the technology lacking in the Eastern European industry in the 1850s?
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What overcame the issues of smoke and smell associated with kerosene lamps?
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What was the potential alternative to digging for oil that was imported to Europe and the United States?
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Who developed a process for extracting and refining illuminating oil, which he called 'kerosene'?
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What was the estimated annual worth of kerosene or 'coal-oils' produced by thirty-four companies in the United States by 1859?
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Which region had a small oil industry developed by 1859, primarily in Galicia and Rumania, with an estimated crude production of thirty-six thousand barrels?
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What was the primary use of petroleum in Europe when refining technology was transmitted via the Arabs?
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What was the mixture of petroleum and lime used by the Byzantines in warfare?
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What was the estimated primary source of European crude production in 1859?
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Study Notes
The Early History of Kerosene Production and Petroleum Use
- Abraham Gesner changed careers and developed a process for extracting and refining illuminating oil, which he called "kerosene."
- Gesner applied for a United States patent for the manufacture of kerosene in 1854 and established a kerosene works in New York City.
- By 1859, an estimated thirty-four companies in the United States were producing $5 million a year worth of kerosene or "coal-oils."
- Bitumen, a semisolid substance, was used in the Middle East for various purposes, including as a traded commodity, for building mortar, and for medicinal uses.
- Petroleum seepages and bitumen were used in warfare, as seen in historical accounts like the Iliad and the actions of King Cyrus.
- The Byzantines utilized "Greek fire," a mixture of petroleum and lime, in warfare, considering it a more terrible weapon than gunpowder.
- Knowledge of petroleum's application was lost to the West for many centuries, despite its long and varied history in the Middle East.
- In many parts of Europe, including Bavaria, Sicily, and the Po Valley, oil seepages were observed and commented upon from the Middle Ages onward.
- Refining technology for petroleum was transmitted to Europe via the Arabs, and petroleum was mainly used as a medicinal remedy in Europe.
- A small oil industry had developed in Eastern Europe by 1859, primarily in Galicia and Rumania, with an estimated crude production of thirty-six thousand barrels.
- Peasants in Galicia and Rumania dug shafts by hand to obtain crude oil, from which kerosene was refined, and by 1859, Galicia had a thriving kerosene oil business.
- European crude production in 1859 was estimated to be primarily from Galicia and Rumania, with over 150 villages involved in mining for oil.
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Description
Test your knowledge of the early history of kerosene production and petroleum use with this informative quiz. Explore the origins of kerosene, the historical use of petroleum in warfare, and the development of the oil industry in Eastern Europe.
