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Events on Thursday 10 January 1901 1
1901Spindletop Oil GusherTexas oil strike launches the modern petroleum industryOn 10 January 1901 a drilling crew near Beaumont, Texas struck oil at Spindletop, producing a gusher that flowed at roughly 100,000 barrels a day. The discovery triggered a Texas oil boom and led to the founding of companies including Texaco and Gulf Oil. It marked the start of the United States as a major oil producer.