Abraham Pineo Gesner
Encyclopedia
Abraham Pineo Gesner was a Canadian
physician
and geologist
who invented kerosene
. Although Ignacy Łukasiewicz 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
.
, 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 Abernethy
. While in London, he became interested in geology, making the acquaintance of Charles Lyell
.
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.
In 1842, Gesner started "Gesner's Museum of Natural History", in Saint John
, New Brunswick
, the first public museum in Canada. This later became the prestigious New Brunswick Museum
.
, 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, 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 is 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
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who invented kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
. Although Ignacy Łukasiewicz 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
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
Education
Born to a well-established farming family in the Annapolis ValleyAnnapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
, 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
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
under Sir Astley Paston Cooper, then surgery at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
under John Abernethy
John Abernethy (surgeon)
John Abernethy FRS was an English surgeon, grandson of the Reverend John Abernethy.He was born in Coleman Street in the City of London, where his father was a merchant. Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, he was apprenticed in 1779 to Sir Charles Blicke , a surgeon at St Bartholomew's...
. While in London, he became interested in geology, making the acquaintance of Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
.
Early career
Returning to ParrsboroParrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.-History:...
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
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
in Nova Scotia. In 1838, he was appointed Provincial Geologist for New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, charged with the mission to undertake a similar geological survey. In the course of this survey, in 1839 Gesner discovered the bituminous asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
substance albertite
Albertite
Albertite is a type of asphalt found in Albert County, New Brunswick. It is a type of solid hydrocarbon.It is a deep black and lustrous variety, and is less soluble in turpentine than the usual type of asphalt. It was from Albertite that kerosene was first refined...
, which he named after Albert County, New Brunswick
Albert County, New Brunswick
Albert County is located in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada on the Chignecto Bay of the Bay of Fundy. Prior to the abolition of county government in 1967, the county seat was Hopewell Cape...
where it was found.
In 1842, looking for coal, Gesner travelled to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where he discovered the first of the great fossil deposits of the future Miguasha National Park
Miguasha National Park
Miguasha National Park is a protected area near Carleton-sur-Mer on the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec in Canada. Created in 1985 by the Government of Quebec, Miguasha was designated a World Heritage Site in 1999 in recognition of its wealth of fossils, which display a crucial time during the evolution...
. However, little notice was taken of his report until the fossils were rediscovered in 1879.
In 1842, Gesner started "Gesner's Museum of Natural History", in Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, the first public museum in Canada. This later became the prestigious New Brunswick Museum
New Brunswick Museum
The New Brunswick Museum, located in Saint John, New Brunswick is Canada's oldest continuing museum. The New Brunswick Museum was officially incorporated as the "Provincial Museum" in 1929 and received its current name in 1930, but its history goes back much further. Its lineage can be traced back...
.
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 keroseneKerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, burned cleaner and was less expensive than competing products, such as whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
. 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
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, from which kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
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
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
and he returned to Halifax, where he was appointed a Professor of Natural History at Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
.
Gesner himself was humble about his contribution to the development of the petroleum industry. In his 1861 work, 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 is due."
In 1933, Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest petroleum company. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It is controlled by US based ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of its stock...
Ltd., a Standard Oil subsidiary, erected a memorial in Camp Hill Cemetery
Camp Hill Cemetery
In 1844 Camp Hill Cemetery on Robie Street in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada replaced the city's first cemetery known as the Old Burying Ground that had been established almost 100 years earlier in 1749...
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
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
.
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 by Industry Canada
- Abraham Gesner by the Nova Scotia Museum
- Abraham Gesner Petroleum History Society
- Abraham Gesner by New Brunswick Community College, Saint John
- Abraham Gesner by National Chemistry Week
- Foulis - Gesner Conflict
- Abraham Gesner University of New Brunswick