Ignacy Lukasiewicz

Ignacy Łukasiewicz was a Polish pharmacist, engineer, businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was one of the most prominent philanthropists in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, crown land of Austria-Hungary. He was a pioneer who in 1856 built the world's first modern oil refinery. His achievements included the discovery of how to distill kerosene from seep crude oil, the invention of the modern kerosene lamp (1853), the introduction of the first modern street lamp in Europe (1853), and the construction of the world's first modern oil well (1854). Łukasiewicz was born on 8 March 1822 in Zaduszniki, near Mielec, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in the Austrian Empire (after the Partitions of Poland) as the youngest of five children. His family was of Armenian origin. His parents were Apolonia, née Świetlik, and Józef Łukasiewicz, a member of the local intelligentsia nobility entitled to use the Łada coat of arms and a veteran of Kościuszko's Uprising. The family rented a small manor in Zaduszniki, but soon after Ignacy's birth financial difficulties forced them to relocate to the nearby city of Rzeszów. There Ignacy entered the local secondary school (Konarski's Gymnasium), but failed to pass the examinations and left in 1836. In order to help his parents and financially support all the relatives, he moved to Łańcut, where he began work as a pharmacist's assistant. Upon moving to Łańcut, Łukasiewicz also became involved in several political organizations that supported the idea of restoring Polish sovereignty and independence and participated in many political gatherings around the area. In 1840 he returned to Rzeszów, where he continued working at Edward Hübl's private pharmacy. In 1845 he met diplomat and activist Edward Dembowski, who admitted Łukasiewicz to the illegal "Centralization of the Polish Democratic Society", a party that focused on radical policies and supported a revolt against the Austrian government. The organization's aim was to prepare an all-national uprising against all three partitioning powers. Since the movement was seen as a possible danger to the Austrian monarchy, on 19 February 1846 Łukasiewicz and several other members of the party were arrested by the Austrian authorities and imprisoned in the city of Lwów. He was released from prison after eight months, without a trial, due to the lack of evidence. He moved to Kraków, the capital of the semi-autonomous Free City of Kraków. There he attended the lectures of many prominent Polish scholars and scientists at the Jagiellonian University, including Jędrzej Śniadecki, Ignacy Domeyko, and Karol Olszewski. He also worked as a pharmacist at the Golden Star Pharmacy (Apteka pod Złotą Gwiazdą) owned by Piotr Mikolasch. He continued his political activism and became a member of the Polish National Committee, a successor of the Polish Democratic Society. He also joined the Polish Uprising of 1848, during which he commanded a small artillery unit. After the failure of the revolt, he returned to his work at the pharmacy. In 1850, Łukasiewicz moved to Vienna, where he studied chemistry and physics at the Polytechnic Institute. He also attended the medical lectures of Joseph Redtenbacher and Johann Ritter von Oppolzer at the University of Vienna. He became interested in the potential uses of crude oil, which at that time was considered a useless by-product of salt mining. He experimented with different methods of distilling and purifying oil, and in 1852 he managed to obtain a clear, flammable liquid that he named "kerosene". He also designed a prototype of a kerosene lamp, which he tested at the Golden Star Pharmacy and at the General Hospital of Vienna. In 1854, Łukasiewicz returned to Poland and settled in Lwów, where he opened his own pharmacy. He continued his research on kerosene and lamps, and soon he received a patent for his inventions. He also established contacts with salt miners and oil prospectors in the nearby town of Bóbrka, where he organized the first systematic oil extraction in the world. He built a small oil refinery, where he produced kerosene, lubricants, and paraffin. He also founded the first oil company in the world, with the financial support of his partners Tytus Trzecieski and Karol Klobassa-Zrencki. Łukasiewicz became famous for his innovative and philanthropic activities. He donated many kerosene lamps to hospitals, churches, and public institutions, and he financed the construction of several wells, pipelines, and factories. He also supported the development of education, culture, and science in Galicia, and he was a benefactor of many schools, libraries, museums, and societies. He was an honorary citizen of several towns and cities, and he received many awards and distinctions from various countries and organizations. He died of pneumonia on 7 January 1882 in Chorkówka, where he had a manor house. He was buried in the local cemetery, and his grave is marked by a monument designed by Teodor Rygier.