| Edwin Laurentine Drake struck oil on this day while drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Drake, a railway conductor in New Haven, Connecticut, had studied the techniques of drilling salt wells. He was encouraged to drill for oil by George H. Bissell, a local landowner who was aware of Benjamin Silliman's report of the potential value of petroleum. Drake began drilling in 1858 and finally struck oil at a depth of 21 metres (69 feet) on this day. With the spread of Drake's drilling techniques, ... |