b.2 May 1797, Cornwallis, NS-d. 29 Apr 1864, Halifax
Physician, geologist, chemist, inventor, professor, author
New Brunswick, NS, and Dalhousie U
Abraham Gesner was born near Cornwallis, NS. He became a medical student in London, England, and graduated as a physician and surgeon. He also became the first government geologist in a British colony. Beginning about 1846 he developed experiments for distilling "coal oil" from solid hydrocarbons and coined the name kerosene for the lamp oil he perfected by 1853, and patented his processes in 1854. After overseeing the setup of a factory on Long Island, he sold his patents in 1863 and returned to Halifax and a professorship at Dalhousie U. He died in Halifax.
More detail: Medical student, London, England, 1825; Returned to Parrsboro, NS, and explored NS by boat, horseback and foot. Moved to St. John, NB, 1838, and his 5 annual reports on the geology of NB (1839-43) established him as the first government geologist in a British colony. He studied, described and mapped the distribution of rock formations in NS, NB and PEI. During this time he rediscovered the veins of solid bitumen in Albert County, which he used in experiments in distillation. He used his field collections to start the first natural history museum in Canada at the Mechanics' Institute, St. John, NB, 1842, before returning to NS in 1843. His distillation of Kerosene became standard lighting fuel in homes. In 1863 he sold his patents and returned to Halifax, where he was appointed professor at Dalhousie. There he wrote numerous scientific papers and reports and several books, the most important of which was A Practical Treatise on Coal, Petroleum and Other Distilled Oils (1861). His other inventions include one of the first effective wood preservatives, a process of asphalt paving for highways, briquettes made from compressed coal dust, and a machine for insulating electric wire.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1988 (L.M. Cumming)
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