Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822–1882) - the leader of organic work

Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822–1882). He was an explorer and inventor, successfully involved in business activities. He was an ardent patriot involved in underground activities, for which he paid with almost two years in prison. He was also a great social activist and philanthropist. Working in the Lviv pharmacy “Pod Złotą Gwiazdą”, together with Jan Zeh, they distilled crude oil, obtaining kerosene, thanks to which it was possible to popularize kerosene lighting. The kerosene lamp was used for the first time in public in July 1853 in a hospital in Lviv. In 1854, together with Tytus Trzecieski and Karol Klobassa, he founded the first crude oil mine in Poland in Bóbrka near Krosno. From the beginning of the 1860s, the company, including an oil mine and a refinery, brought in considerable income. Thanks to this, Łukasiewicz bought a property in Chorkówka, where he also organized a modern refinery. He took care of the social care of his workers, providing them with medical care as well as retirement and disability insurance. Łukasiewicz combined his industrial activity with public activity, which gradually became national in nature. In 1876, he was elected a deputy of the National Parliament, where he primarily sought to pass an act regulating the legal situation of the oil mining industry. He initiated the creation of an organization associating mine owners and oil entrepreneurs, undertaking joint actions to protect the oil industry and representing the interests of Galician oil workers. As a philanthropist, he selflessly supported all those in need of help.