Robert Chesebrough began his career as a chemist refining and clarifying sperm whale oil. With the development of coal oil and when petroleum was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Robert’s job suddenly became obsolete. Robert packed his bags for Titusville to see if he could use the new material for something else. He spoke with some of the workers in the drilling field and was introduced to a substance known as “rod wax.” The workers explained that “rod wax” was a jelly-like substance that built up on the pumping equipment. The substance was a nuisance for the workers, as it had to be cleaned off regularly, thus slowing down production. Although the workers complained about “rod wax,” the did say that if someone suffered a cut or burn on the job, an liberal application of “rod wax” seemed to lessen the pain and speed up the healing process. Robert was intrigued.
Robert began collecting the unwanted “rod wax” in jars. In June 1872, Robert was awarded patent number US127568A for the process of manufacturing “rod wax,” which he renamed “petroleum jelly.” Robert began selling the product under the name “Vaseline.”
With firm beliefs in his product, Robert founded the Chesebrough Manufacturing Company and began demonstrating his Vaseline all over the East coast. Before a bewildered crowd, Robert would burn his skin with a flame (or sometimes acid) and quickly cover the fresh wound with a layer of Vaseline. Crowds were amazed and Vaseline was selling over 1400 jars per day. Stores that stocked the product couldn’t keep it on the shelves. Robert often gave out free samples of Vaseline, one of the first times the practice was employed to sell and promote a product.
Robert claimed that he ate a spoonful of Vaseline everyday. He contracted a case of pleurisy (an inflammation of the lungs similar to pneumonia) in his 90s and had his nurse cover him from head to toe in Vaseline. He recovered.
Robert passed away in 1933 at the age of 96. He stood by the magical healing properties of Vaseline his entire life.