Abraham Pineo Gesner was a clever man who lived a long time ago. He was born in Canada in the year 1797. At that time, people didn't have electricity or cars like we do today. They had to use something called 'kerosene' to light their lamps at night. Kerosene was made from a type of coal, but it was expensive and not very good quality.
Gesner was very smart and he loved to learn new things. He became a doctor before he was 20 years old! But he didn't just stop there. He wanted to make things better for people. So he started to experiment with different things to try and find a cheaper and better way to make kerosene.
He found out that kerosene could be made from something called 'oil'. Oil is a liquid that comes from rocks deep under the ground. Oil is a lot cheaper and better quality than coal. But back then, no one knew how to use oil to make kerosene.
Gesner worked hard and he finally succeeded in making kerosene from oil. This was very exciting because it meant that people could have better and cheaper light. And not just that, but oil was also useful for making things like fuel for cars and plastics. Gesner's discovery changed the world forever!
Even though Gesner has passed away, his work has contributed to the improvements we now enjoy today.