Abraham Pineo Gesner
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| Abraham Pineo Gesner | |
| Born | May 2, 1797 Cornwallis Township, Nova Scotia, Canada |
|---|---|
| Died | April 29, 1864 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Residence | Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Fields | Geology, Medicine |
| Institutions | Government of New Brunswick and the North American Kerosene Gas Light Company |
| Alma mater | St Bartholomew's Hospital and Dalhousie University |
| Known for | Inventor of kerosene |
Abraham Pineo Gesner, born May 2, 1797 in Cornwallis Township, Nova Scotia, Canada () – died April 29, 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a physician and geologist who invented kerosene and became the primary founder of the modern petroleum industry.
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[edit] Education
Born to a well-established farming family in the Annapolis Valley, Pineo Gesner pursued a career at sea from a young age. Twice shipwrecked by his early twenties, Gesner returned to the family farm near Chipman Corner, northeast of Kentville. He married Harriet Webster, the daughter of Kentville's Dr. Isaac Webster in 1824, then went to London to study medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital under Sir Astley Paston Cooper, then surgery at Guy's Hospital under John Abernathy.[1] While in London, he became interested in geology, making the acquaintance of Charles Lyell[2]
Returning to Parrsboro as a practising physician, Gesner also pursued his passion for geology. In 1836, he published a study on the mineralogy of Nova Scotia, which included a detailed geological map providing information on the key deposits of iron ore and coal in Nova Scotia. In 1838, he was appointed Provincial Geologist for New Brunswick charged with the mission to undertake a similar geological survey. In the course of this survey, in 1839 Gesner discovered the bituminous asphalt substance albertite, which he named after Albert County, New Brunswick where it was found.
In 1842, looking for coal, Gesner travelled to Quebec, where he discovered the first of the great fossil deposits of the future Miguasha National Park. However, little notice was taken of his report until the fossils were rediscovered in 1879.
Gesner started the Gesner Museum, in Saint John, New Brunswick, the first public museum in Canada. This later became the prestigious New Brunswick Museum.[3]
[edit] Kerosene
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" that 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.[4][5]
In 1933, Imperial Oil Ltd., a Standard Oil subsidiary, erected a memorial in Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax to pay tribute to Abraham 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- ^ Abraham Gesner, Part One: A Father of Petroleum by Hans Durstling
- ^ Abraham Gesner by the New Brunswick Museum
- ^ Murray, T J (1993), “Dr Abraham Gesner: the father of the petroleum industry.”, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 86 (1): 43-4, 1993 Jan, PMID:8423576, <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8423576>
- ^ Swinton, W E (1976), “Physician contributions to nonmedical science: Abraham Gesner, inventor of kerosene.”, Canadian Medical Association journal 115 (11): 1126-33, 1976 Dec 4, PMID:793702, <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/793702>
[edit] External links
- Abraham Gesner monument at Chipman Corner (in former Cornwallis Township), Nova Scotia
- Abraham Gesner, by Nova Scotia Museum
- Abraham Gesner saved more whales than Green Peace ever will, by James S. Robbins
- Abraham Gesner saved more whales than Green Peace ever will by James S. Robbins
- How Capitalism Saved the Whales by James S. Robbins
- Abraham Gesner by Industry Canada
- Abraham Gesner by the Nova Scotia Museum
- Abraham Gesner, Part Two: Gunplay in the Albert County Woods by Hans Durstling
- Abraham Gesner Petroleum History Society
- Abraham Gesner by New Brunswick Community College, Saint John
- Abraham Gesner by National Chemistry Week
- Abraham Gesner St. Mark's School
- Foulis - Gesner Conflict
- Abraham Gesner University of New Brunswick
