Ignacy Łukasiewicz can be considered as one of a key figure in several fields such as politics, business, science and pharmacology among others. He was born almost 200 years ago in the town of Zaduszniki, which was back then part of the Austrian Empire in a family of Armenian origin. His parents raised him to be a patriot who would later get involved in the Polish cause under Austrian rule. 

During the 1840s, In 1840 he joined the illegal „Centralisation of the Polish Democratic Society”, a political party advocating for a revolt against the Austrian government. He was arrested several times for his political activities. 

In 1848, Ignacy Łukasiewicz was employed at one of the biggest and best pharmacies in Austrian Galicia. In 1852 he graduated from the pharmacy department at the University of Vienna, where he earned a master’s degree in pharmaceutics. From that moment, he devoted himself to the studies of exploiting kerosene. 

His numerous researches revolutionised the use of oil. One of his main achievements is that he discovered how to distil kerosene from seep oil. In 1853, he invented the modern kerosene lamp and introduced the first modern street lamp in Europe. The following year, he fabricated the world’s first modern oil well. 

In 1856, he built the world’s first industrial oil refinery in Ulaszowice (today’s Southern Poland). As demand for kerosene remained low, the plant initially produced mostly lubricants, machine oil and artificial asphalt. The refinery was destroyed by a fire in 1859 but was quickly rebuilt in Polanka (near Krosno). 

In 1863, he supported the January Uprising and financed help for many refugees. He also continued to promote the development of the oil industry. In 1877 Łukasiewicz organised the first Oil Industry Congress and founded the National Oil Society. He became a regional benefactor and founded, among others, a spa resort at Bóbrka, a chapel in Chorkówka, and a church in Zręcin in which he was buried after he died of pneumonia on the 7th of January 1882. 

On the 29th of October 2022, the Polish parliament established 2022 as the year of Ignacy Łukasiewicz: „He belongs to an honourable group of Poles whose activities have left a great and positive impact on the development of our homeland, as well as the whole world” – reads the resolution.

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Cover photo: Painting by Andrzej Grabowski, 1884 via Twitter @KancelariaSejmu