It may be surprising that the invention of the kerosene lamp has to do with the pharmaceutical industry. However, it was a Polish pharmacist, Ignacy Łukasiewicz, who made this amazing discovery.

In the mid-19th century, the Lwów (today’s Lviv) pharmacy “Under the Golden Star” became the site of the construction of the paraffin lamp. At the time, Lwów was under Austrian rule of the Austrian Empire – in the area that Poland lost as a result of the partitions at the end of the 18th century. The Polish pharmacist Ignacy Łukasiewicz worked in the pharmacy owned by Piotr Mikolasch.

Kerosene is still used in medicine today, for example, to treat conjunctivitis, nausea and motion sickness. It was also supplied to the Lwów pharmacy. The product was imported from Italy and cost a lot of money.

He wanted to reduce the price so created kerosene for lighting

Łukasiewicz aimed to create a cheaper product than the Italian specific, so he started looking for better distillation methods. Pharmacists soon bought large quantities of oil from Boryslav (a town south of Lviv) and began distilling it. They tried to sell the finished product, but other pharmacies still preferred the Italian brand. The pharmacy “Under the Golden Star” began to face bankruptcy.

First operation under the light of a kerosene lamp

One day, Lukasiewicz used fractional distillation at temperatures of up to 250 degrees Celsius and succeeded in stripping the product of light petrols and heavy hydrocarbons. He realised that such kerosene burned very well. However, using it in the oil lamps he risked exploding the device. The Polish chemist asked Adam Bratkowski, a tinsmith, to construct a lamp in such a way that the kerosene he had distilled for lighting could be used safely in it. The invention was improved over time to give more light. Thus, on 31 July 1853, it was used for the first time during an operation in a Lwów hospital. The procedure was performed by physician-surgeon Zaorski.

The kerosene lamp gave pure light. It was safe to use and hygienic, as smoke was kept to a minimum. The use of Łukasiewicz’s invention generated lower costs than gas lighting or oil lamps.