Hiram Bond Everest (April 11, 1830 – March 5, 1913) was an American businessman, investor, inventor and farmer.

Biography

Hiram Bond Everest was born in

Pike, New York Pike is an incorporated town in Wyoming County, New York. The population was 1,114 at the 2010 census. The Town of Pike is on the south border of the county. Pike is also the name of a hamlet in this town. History The Town of Pike was founde ...

on April 11, 1830. He moved to Wisconsin around age 18 to work as a teacher of science until 1853, when he moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. There he established a grocery business. He married Mercy Eleanor Everest on January 1, 1852, and they had four children. Later, with a business partner Matthew Ewing, the

Vacuum Oil Vacuum Oil Company was an American oil company. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Standard Oil Company of New York to form Socony-Vacuum, later ren ...

Company was incorporated in 1866, after obtaining a patent for a new method of distilling

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

in a vacuum that produced a high-quality lubricant byproduct. It had been the company's intention to produce kerosene but they found a greater competitive advantage for their lubricants. Everest and the

Company patented several inventions. Everest subsequently leased for the company in Oatka Valley,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and was reputed to be a multi-millionaire. Everest died at age 82 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Diary excerpt

References

External links

*
"Hiram B. Everest and The Petroleum Industry"
''Historical Wyoming'', July 1949, pp. 98-102 {{DEFAULTSORT:Everest, Hiram Bond 1830 births 1913 deaths People from Pike, New York Scientists from New York (state) American inventors