For most of human history, nighttime meant utter darkness. After the sun went down, artificial lighting was limited to dim candles, torches, oil lamps, and campfires. All of that changed with the advent of gas lighting and electric lighting in the 19th century, which allowed major cities to be brightly illuminated at night for the first time. But the path to widespread urban lighting was not straightforward. One of the major steps along this journey was the use of whale oil to fuel early streetlights.
The Rise of Street Lighting
Public street lighting first emerged in the late 17th century. In 1688, the first public lamp lighters were hired in London to tend to lamps that illuminated main streets at night. These early oil-burning streetlights were lit by lamplighters manually, one wick at a time.
Over the next 150 years, street lighting gradually expanded to other major European cities. But the lamps of the time still had limitations - they provided only faint illumination, the oil was smoky and foul-smelling, and the wick lamps needed to be manually lit and extinguished daily. Something better was needed to properly light up urban areas at night.
Whale Oil Improves Illumination
That “something better” turned out to be whale oil. In the early 19th century, it was discovered that oil rendered from whale blubber burned brighter and cleaner than other animal-derived oils. Whale oil lamps were found to emit a superior light compared to lamps fueled by lard, tallow, or other oils.
The key advantages of whale oil were:
- Higher luminosity - Whale oil lamps shined brighter than other oil lamps.
- Less smoke - Whale oil burned with less soot and smoke than other oils.
- Pleasant smell - When burned, whale oil gave off a mild, tolerable scent. Other animal oils smelled rancid when burned.
Thanks to these benefits, whale oil rapidly replaced other oils as the preferred fuel for illumination. It powered lamps not just on city streets but also in lighthouses, homes, businesses, and anywhere bright, non-smoky light was needed.
The use of whale oil in streetlights allowed cities to be lit more broadly, brightly, and consistently at night. By the 1830s, over 3000 whale oil streetlights brightly illuminated cities like London and Paris after sunset. Whale oil streetlights remained the norm in major cities throughout the 1830s and 1840s.
Whaling Industry Takes Off
The whaling industry took off dramatically in the early 1800s to meet the growing demand for whale oil. American whalers in particular ventured across the oceans hunting sperm whales and right whales for their valuable blubber.
The ports of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Nantucket, Rhode Island became epicenters of the whaling trade. At its peak in the mid-1800s, the US whaling industry included over 700 whaling ships employing 70,000 seamen.
Intense whaling led to declining whale populations over time. But the superior performance of whale oil ensured its popularity even as whales became harder to find. By the mid-1800s, the sperm whale population had plummeted due to overhunting.
Gas Lighting Surpasses Whale Oil
In the 1850s, gas lighting emerged as a superior alternative to whale oil for streetlights. Coal gas burned even brighter than whale oil, and gas lamps could be switched on with just the flip of a switch. Cities rapidly installed gas streetlights and lighting networks in the 1850s and 1860s.
The commercial viability of the whaling trade declined in tandem with the rise of gas lighting. With fewer customers for their oil, many whaling ships were repurposed or sold off. The US whaling industry shrank dramatically during and after the 1860s.
Though whale oil streetlights flickered out, the whaling industry they fueled left an indelible mark on the economy, environment, and culture of that era. Whale oil bridged the gap between dim antiquated lighting and the modern urban illumination that electricity would soon make possible.
In summary, the use of whale oil in the 19th century paved the way for well-lit city streets and allowed urban areas to be brightly illuminated at night for the first time. Though no longer used as fuel, whale oil was crucial in mankind's quest to light up the night.