Dartmouth College. Petroleum Anniversary Convocation

Staff Only

Biography

In 1853, at the request of George Bissell, Dartmouth 1845, Doctor Dixi Crosby of the Dartmouth Medical School and Professor Oliver P. Hubbard of the Chemistry Department conducted a preliminary analysis of crude oil obtained from the land of Francis B. Brewer, Dartmouth 1843. The encouragement given by Crosby regarding the useful and potentially valuable properties of petroleum led Bissell and his associates to purchase oil land in western Pennsylvania; to the incorporation in 1854 of the first petroleum company in the world; to the idea in 1855 that crude oil might be obtained by drilling; and finally to the completion of the Drake well in 1859. The chief event at the anniversary was the unveiling of a bronze tablet on Crosby Hall, home and laboratory of Dixi Crosby in 1853. (AAPG Bulletin (1954) 38 (2): 337–338)

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Dartmouth College, Petroleum Anniversary Convocation records

Collection

Identifier: DA-16

DA-16

Date(s): 1953 to 1959

Scope and Contents The collection contains material relating to the convocation commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the first scientific examination of crude oil, which occured in 1853 at Dartmouth College. Includes correspondence, invitations to the convocation, lists of attendees, copies of speeches, pamphlets, programs, newspaper and magazine articles, and other material regarding the convocation held at Dartmouth College on June 26, 1953. Also includes some material regarding the observance of...