In the 19th century, a Polish pharmacist invented the kerosene lamp – a device that quickly went on to light up Europe. He also went on to open the first oil mine and kerosene refinery in the world, ...

Growing up in Tarlac, we had electricity in town, but as late as the 1960s, the barrios where my parents came from—Tibag and Singat in Pura—remained in darkness at night and relied solely on kerosene ...