1926 - Energy

Energy

Fayetteville, Ark.-born Ethyl Gasoline Corp. chemist Graham Edgar, 38, devises an octane scale for rating gasoline (see Dow, 1924). The U.S. Public Health Service allows leaded gasoline to remain on the market, and it will continue to be sold for more than half a century despite growing evidence that lead emissions create human health hazards; most countries will outlaw use of lead in gasoline, and improved processes will enable oil companies to make lead-free gasoline with octane ratings as high as 94.

Drillers strike oil October 28 on the 8,000-acre Ira G. Yates ranch in Pecos County, Texas. They tap what will for decades be the largest U.S. petroleum reserve, and their 992-foot-deep well is soon producing 450 barrels per day.