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. 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
trademark (it was registered in 1920). When Standard Oil was broken up in 1911 due to the
Sherman Antitrust Act, Vacuum became an independent company again. Vacuum Oil and Standard Oil of New York (
Socony) merged in 1931, after the government gave up attempts to prevent it. The newly-combined entity, Socony-Vacuum Corp, was the world's third-largest oil company. , Palestine, 1946 In 1933, Socony-Vacuum and
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (which had oil production and refineries in Indonesia) merged their interests in the Far East into a 50–50 joint venture.
Standard Vacuum Oil Company, or "Stanvac," operated in 50 countries, including New Zealand, China, and the region of East Africa, before it was dissolved in 1962. During
World War II, the
Tschechowitz I & II subcamps of
Auschwitz in
Czechowice-Dziedzice provided
forced labor for Vacuum Oil Company facilities in
Poland, which had been captured and operated by
Nazi Germany. In 1955, the company became Socony Mobil Oil Company. In 1966, it was renamed Mobil Oil Corporation, later shortened to
Mobil Corporation. == Legal challenges ==