Philip M. Shannon
Philip Martin Shannon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | November 22, 1915 (aged 69) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, politician, military serviceman |
| Known for | Discovering oil deposits in Wyoming; mayor of Bradford, Pennsylvania |
Philip Martin Shannon (September 2, 1846 – November 22, 1915) was a prominent American entrepreneur, politician, millionaire, and military serviceman recognized for his role in discovering oil deposits in Wyoming.
Life
Shannon was born in 1846 in Bradford, Pennsylvania and gained experience working in oil fields during the initial phase of the Pennsylvania oil rush. In the early 1880s, he identified the oil reserves now known as the Shannon Oil fields, which bear his name. Additionally, he secured controlling stakes in oil operations located in Texas and Alabama. He joined the 62nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment in 1861 but received an honorable discharge in 1862 after sustaining injuries at the Battle of Gaines's Mill.
His political career included serving as Burgess of Millerstown in 1874 and an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Pennsylvania legislature in 1876. Shannon married Hattie M. McIntosh on June 18, 1881, and later was elected mayor of Bradford in 1885.
In 1884, Shannon traveled to Wyoming, where by 1889 he uncovered oil at the Salt Creek Oil Field. He went on to establish an oil refinery there in 1894. In a notable event in 1900, a veteran of the Spanish–American War attempted to rob him at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Shannon passed away on November 22, 1915, at his residence within Pittsburgh's Duquesne Club.