Abraham Gesner – Genius of Light

Abraham Gesner was born into a family of Nova Scotia Loyalists at Chipman Corner near Kentville, N.S. in 1797. He studied medicine in England, and returned to Nova Scotia to settle in Parrsboro where he opened a medical practice, and studied geology. In 1838 he moved his family to New Brunswick and in the 1840’s began to experiment with an oily material he found in ‘gum beds’ in Albert County, N.B. He eventually produced a refined material he named “kerosene” which was a very fine fuel for lamps of all kinds, producing a bright light with very little soot or odor.

Gesner moved back to Nova Scotia about 1850, and in May of 1851, with the aid of Joseph Howe, Gesner was ‘loaned’ the Sherbrooke Tower lighthouse on McNabs Island to experiment with his new fuel as a replacement for current fuels, many of which were derived from whales or other marine animals. With the help of lighthouse keeper David George keeping record of the efficiency of kerosene, Gesner gained important evidence about the success of his new invention. (See Sherbrooke Tower icon on the map)

Gesner was convinced kerosene had great potential, but had few commercial opportunities in Halifax. In 1853, he left for New York to find a greater market for his fuel. By 1854 he received a number of US patents for kerosene or ‘coal oil’ as it was commonly known. With American partners he established the ‘North American Kerosene Gas Light Company’ on Long Island.

With the production of crude oil beginning in 1858 in Ontario, raw material for kerosene became cheaper and easier to obtain. Based on Gesner’s flexible distillation process, kerosene production costs dropped to about 1/4 of the original cost. The result was the birth of the modern petroleum industry.

Gesner returned to Halifax in 1863, and was appointed professor of natural history at Dalhousie University. Gesner died on April 29, 1864 and is buried in Camp Hill cemetery.

Abraham Gesner is without question one of Canada’s most interesting historical figures, and is a prominent figure in the founding of the modern petroleum industry.