The development of the Pennsylvania oil industry will be designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society (ACS) in two ceremonies later this month. On Aug. 26, the construction by Samuel Kier of the first still to refine oil into kerosene will be honored at the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. On Aug. 27, a plaque commemorating the drilling by Col. Edwin Drake of the first successful oil well will be presented to the Drake Well Museum in Titusville, Penn. Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D., president of the Society, will present the plaque to each of the recipients. “The construction of the first still and the drilling of the first oil were certainly transforming achievements for chemistry and chemical engineering,” Lane says. ”Our lives, our history and modern society as we know it were changed immeasurably, and in ways unimaginable 150 years ago. “Our community as well as the entire country should be proud of the legacy of invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship by the pioneers of the oil industry represented by Samuel Kier and Edwin Drake,” said Pennsylvania state Representative Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango/Butler). “Their visions of how a previously ignored, seeping black liquid could be chemically refined into so many useful products has changed modern life incalculably in the last 150 years.” The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 154,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. For further information, contact Al Mann, 412-661-5947, alfred.mann@verizon.net