The First Kerosene Lamp in the World

Kerosene lamp was designed by a Polish pharmacist named Ignacy £ukasiewicz (1822 - 1882), a world pioneer in the research of crude oil distillation.

In Lwów, £ukasiewicz and his partner Jan Zeh carried out research on the distillation of crude oil in order to obtain oil mixes that would be cheaper than those commonly used at the time. His research brought results at the end of 1852. A year later, after numerous failed attempts to use kerosene in oil lamps, together with constructor Adam Bratkowski and pharmacists Miklosh and Zeh, the Lwów pharmacist constructed the first prototype of a kerosene lamp. The lamp was made of tin and had the shape of a cylinder, which served as a kerosene tank, with the upper part featuring transparent mica windows. To provide the airflow for the flame, the tube had openings below and above the flame. The lamp burner was made of a wick dipped in the kerosene container. On July 31, 1853, the operating room of the Lwów hospital was lit with kerosene lamps, which made nighttime operations possible.

Throughout his life, £ukasiewicz was connected to the Carpathian region, where crude oil deposits, known as the rock oil at the time, had been discovered. He started the first crude oil mine in the world in Bóbrka near Krosno, now the site of the Oil Industry Museum, with the first oil well called Franek. The first oil refinery was constructed in nearby Ulaszowice in 1856, and when it burned down, a modern refinery was built in Chorkówka.

Thanks to the demand for kerosene and the profits from the partnership, £ukasiewicz became a rich man. Several crude oil mines in the Carpathian region, a clinic in Bóbrka and a church in Zrêcin near Krosno were built at his initiative.