Hugh Nixon Shaw (1812 – February 11, 1863) is an Irish-Canadian oil producer and businessman. Shaw is best known for being misidentified as the discoverer of the Shaw well, Canada's first oil gusher, on January 16, 1862. [1] [2]
Hugh Nixon Shaw | |
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Born | 1812 |
Died | February 11, 1863 | (aged 50–51)
Cause of death | Asphyxiation |
Occupation(s) | Oil producer and businessman |
Hugh Nixon Shaw was born near Dublin, Ireland, in 1812. [3] At some point, Shaw emigrated to Canada West and operated a general store in Cooksville, before moving to Enniskillen Township sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s. [3] [4] Shaw became a successful oil producer, patenting a distilling process that made oil less volatile. [5] [6] Shaw defined his process as applying heat and benzol to remove the impurities out of the oil. [5] [6] Shaw operated a refinery until it burnt down in May 1862. [7]
On February 11, 1863, Shaw died checking the status of one of his oil wells. [7] [8] According to one of his employees, he asked two workers to lower him into his well to grab hold of a pipe that had gotten loose. [8] After fixing the pipe and calling out to be hauled back up, Shaw began coughing and fell backwards into the oil well. [8] An autopsy revealed that Shaw died of asphyxiation from the poisonous gases inside the well. [8]
Contemporary historians and journalists often miscredit Hugh Nixon Shaw as the discoverer of Canada's first oil gusher. [1] [2] The real founder was John Shaw, another oil producer in Enniskillen Township. [1] [2] The confusion over who struck the gusher appears to have arisen from historian Robert Harkness, who claimed in his 1940 publication Makers of Oil History: 1850–1880 that a series of articles in the Toronto Globe credited Hugh Nixon Shaw with the discovery. [1] [2] In fact, the articles Harkness cited were written months before the gusher was struck, and only discuss Hugh Nixon Shaw's distillation process. [1] When the Globe began reporting on the gusher in January 1862, they identified the discoverer as a "Mr. Shaw, lately of Port Huron, Michigan, a daugerrean artist, and formerly of Kingston West," a description that fits John Shaw, not Hugh Nixon Shaw. [1] [2] Moreover, on February 5, 1862, the Globe directly credited John Shaw as the discoverer of the well. [1] Despite Harkness' error, his research had a significant impact on other historians and journalists, who began citing Hugh Nixon Shaw as the discoverer of the Shaw gusher. [1] [2]
Hugh Nixon Shaw (1812 – February 11, 1863) is an Irish-Canadian oil producer and businessman. Shaw is best known for being misidentified as the discoverer of the Shaw well, Canada's first oil gusher, on January 16, 1862. [1] [2]
Hugh Nixon Shaw | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | 1812 |
Died | February 11, 1863 | (aged 50–51)
Cause of death | Asphyxiation |
Occupation(s) | Oil producer and businessman |
Hugh Nixon Shaw was born near Dublin, Ireland, in 1812. [3] At some point, Shaw emigrated to Canada West and operated a general store in Cooksville, before moving to Enniskillen Township sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s. [3] [4] Shaw became a successful oil producer, patenting a distilling process that made oil less volatile. [5] [6] Shaw defined his process as applying heat and benzol to remove the impurities out of the oil. [5] [6] Shaw operated a refinery until it burnt down in May 1862. [7]
On February 11, 1863, Shaw died checking the status of one of his oil wells. [7] [8] According to one of his employees, he asked two workers to lower him into his well to grab hold of a pipe that had gotten loose. [8] After fixing the pipe and calling out to be hauled back up, Shaw began coughing and fell backwards into the oil well. [8] An autopsy revealed that Shaw died of asphyxiation from the poisonous gases inside the well. [8]
Contemporary historians and journalists often miscredit Hugh Nixon Shaw as the discoverer of Canada's first oil gusher. [1] [2] The real founder was John Shaw, another oil producer in Enniskillen Township. [1] [2] The confusion over who struck the gusher appears to have arisen from historian Robert Harkness, who claimed in his 1940 publication Makers of Oil History: 1850–1880 that a series of articles in the Toronto Globe credited Hugh Nixon Shaw with the discovery. [1] [2] In fact, the articles Harkness cited were written months before the gusher was struck, and only discuss Hugh Nixon Shaw's distillation process. [1] When the Globe began reporting on the gusher in January 1862, they identified the discoverer as a "Mr. Shaw, lately of Port Huron, Michigan, a daugerrean artist, and formerly of Kingston West," a description that fits John Shaw, not Hugh Nixon Shaw. [1] [2] Moreover, on February 5, 1862, the Globe directly credited John Shaw as the discoverer of the well. [1] Despite Harkness' error, his research had a significant impact on other historians and journalists, who began citing Hugh Nixon Shaw as the discoverer of the Shaw gusher. [1] [2]