Milestones

Drake Well Strikes Oil

1859

Citation Formats

General Reference

Energy Atlas. "Drake Well Strikes Oil." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/milestones/drake-well-1859.

APA Style

Energy Atlas. (n.d.). Drake Well Strikes Oil. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/milestones/drake-well-1859

BibTeX

@misc{energyatlas-drake-well-strikes-oil,
  author = {Energy Atlas},
  title = {Drake Well Strikes Oil},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://energy.interactiveatlas.org/milestones/drake-well-1859},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

On 27 August 1859 Edwin Drake struck oil at 69.5 feet near Titusville, Pennsylvania, the first well drilled specifically for petroleum to find it in commercial quantity. The strike set off the first oil boom and is the conventional birthdate of the industry that came to dominate world energy.

Facts

Milestone Year

1859 1

Milestone Date

1859-08-27 1

Location

Titusville, Pennsylvania, United States 1

Cross-Tradition Connections