Prominent Poles
Jan Jozef Ignacy Lukasiewicz (born Jan Bozy Jozef Ignacy Lukasiewicz), a pharmacist , inventor of the first method of distilling kerosene from seep oil, inventor of modern kerosene lamp (1853), philanthropist.
Quote. "This liquid is the future wealth of the country, it's the wellbeing and prosperity of its inhabitants, it's a new source of income for the poor, and a new branch of industry which shall bear plentiful fruit."-1854
Born: March 8, 1822, Zaduszniki (Austrian partition of Poland)
Died: January 7, 1882, Chorkowka (Austrian partition of Poland)
Early days. Lukasiewicz was born to an impoverished noble family. His parents were Apolonia nee Swietlik and Jozef Lukasiewicz, a veteran of Kosciuszko's Uprising (1794). They rented a small manor in Zaduszniki, but soon after Ignacy's birth had to move to Rzeszow due to economical difficulties. There Ignacy graduated from the fourth grade at the local gymnasium "Ojcow Pijarow" To help his parents, Ignacy Lukasiewicz moved to Lancut where he started to work as a pharmacist's assistant. At the same time he became involved in various political organizations supporting the idea of restoration of Polish sovereignty. In 1840 he returned to Rzeszow, where he continued to practice at the pharmacy of Edward Hubl. In 1845 he met Edward Dembowski, who admitted Lukasiewicz to the illegal Centralization of the Polish Democratic Society. The aim of that organization was to prepare an all-national uprising against the partitioning powers. Because of that Łukasiewicz was arrested in 1846 by the Austrian authorities and imprisoned in Lwow. In 1847 he was released due to lack of evidence. He was ordered however to remain in Lwow. There Lukasiewicz started working for the Pod Zlota Gwiazda pharmacy owned by Piotr Mikolasch. On his insistence Lukasiewicz was allowed in 1850 to leave Lwow and study pharmacy at the Cracow University. His studies were financed mostly by Mikolasch. Finally, in 1852, Lukasiewicz graduated from the faculty of pharmacy of the University of Vienna.
Professional career. He then returned in 1852 to Lwow. Lukasiewicz had long been interested in the potential of seep oil as a cheap alternative to the more expensive whale oil. In 1853 Jan Zeh, together with his associate Lukasiewicz, was the first in partitioned Poland to distill clear kerosene from seep oil, Canada's Abraham Gesner having first refined kerosene from coal in 1846. In 1853, Lukasiewicz made one of his kerosene lamps available to a local hospital "Ojcow Pijarow" to illuminate an emergency surgical operation The date is considered the starting point of modern oil industry. In early 1854 Lukasiewicz moved to Gorlice, where he continued his work. He set up many companies together with entrepreneurs and landowners. That same year, he opened the world's first oil "mine" at Bobrka, near Krosno. At the same time Lukasiewicz continued his work on kerosene lamps. Later that year he set up the first kerosene street lamp in Gorlice's borough of Zawodzie. In the following years he opened several other oil wells, each of them as a joint-venture with various local merchants and businessmen. In 1856 in Ulaszowice near Jaslo he opened an "oil distillery", that is the first industrial oil refinery in partitioned Poland. As the demand for kerosene was still low, the plant initially produced mostly artificial asphalt, machine oil and lubricants. The refinery was destroyed in a fire in 1859, but was rebuilt in Polanka near Krosno the following year. In 1863 Lukasiewicz, who moved to Jaslo in 1858, was already a wealthy man. He openly supported the January Uprising and financed help for the refugees. In 1865 he bought a large manor and the village of Chorkowka. There he established yet another oil refinery. Having gained one of the largest fortunes in Galicia, Lukasiewicz promoted the development of oil industry in the area of Dukla and Gorlice. He gave his name to several oil-mining enterprises in the area, including the oil wells of Ropianka, Wilsznia, Smereczne, Ropa and Wojtowa. He also became the benefactor of the region and founded a spa resort in Bobrka, a chapel in Chorkowka and a large church in Zrecin. He also organized at the Bobrka oil well a so-called "Brotherly Bank" equivalent of an insurance company.As one of the best-known businessmen of his times, he was elected to the Galician Sejm. In 1877 Lukasiewicz also organized the first Oil Industry Congress and founded the National Oil Society. Ignacy Lukasiewicz died in1882, of pneumonia. He was buried at the small cemetery of Zrecin.
Honors. 1873 St.Gregory order and honorary title of Papal Chamberlain (szambelan papieski) awarded by Pope Pius IX.
This article uses, among others, material from the Wikipedia article "Ignacy Lukasiewicz" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. :
Sciaga (in Polish)
Bobrka (in Polish)
Return to home page:
Prominent Poles
