Vacuum Oil Company was an American oil company. After being taken over by the original Standard Oil Company and then becoming independent again, in 1931 Vacuum Oil merged with the Standard Oil Company of New York to form Socony-Vacuum, later renamed to Mobil and eventually merging with the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (itself renamed to Exxon) to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
History
Vacuum Oil was founded in 1866 by Matthew Ewing and Hiram Bond Everest, of Rochester, New York. Lubricating oil was an accidental discovery; while attempting to distill kerosene, Everest noted the residue from the extraction was suitable as a lubricant. Soon after, the product became popular for use in steam and internal-combustion engines. Ewing sold his interest to Everest, who carried on the company.[1] Vacuum was bought by Standard Oil in 1879.
It had used "Mobiloil" automobile lubricating oil brand since 1904, and by 1918 it became recognizable enough that the company filed it for registration as a