Propane was discovered by the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot in 1857.^[5] It was first identified as a volatile component in gasoline by Walter O. Snelling of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910. Although the compound was known long before this, Snelling's work was the beginning of the propane industry in the United States. The volatility of these lighter hydrocarbons caused them to be known as "wild" because of the high vapor pressures of unrefined gasoline. On March 31, the New York Times reported on Snelling's work with liquefied gas, saying "a steel bottle will carry enough gas to light an ordinary home for three weeks".^[6]

It was during this time that Snelling, in cooperation with Frank P. Peterson, Chester Kerr, and Arthur Kerr, created ways to liquefy the LP gases during the refining of natural gasoline. Together, they established American Gasol Co., the first commercial marketer of propane. Snelling had produced relatively pure propane by 1911, and on March 25, 1913, his method of processing and producing LP gases was issued patent #1,056,845.^[7] A separate method of producing LP gas through compression was created by Frank Peterson and its patent granted on July 2, 1912.^[8]

The 1920s saw increased production of LP gas, with the first year of recorded production totaling 223,000 US gallons (840 m³) in 1922. In 1927, annual marketed LP gas production reached 1 million US gallons (3,800 m³), and by 1935, the annual sales of LP gas had reached 56 million US gallons (210,000 m³). Major industry developments in the 1930s included the introduction of railroad tank car transport, gas odorization, and the construction of local bottle-filling plants. The year 1945 marked the first year that annual LP gas sales reached a billion gallons. By 1947, 62% of all U.S. homes had been equipped with either natural gas or propane for cooking.^[7]

In 1950, 1,000 propane-fueled buses were ordered by the Chicago Transit Authority, and by 1958, sales in the U.S. had reached 7 billion US gallons (26,000,000 m³) annually. In 2004, it was reported to be a growing $8-billion to $10-billion industry with over 15 billion US gallons (57,000,000 m³) of propane being used annually in the U.S.^[9]

Propane was discovered by the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot in 1857.^[5] It was first identified as a volatile component in gasoline by Walter O. Snelling of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1910. Although the compound was known long before this, Snelling's work was the beginning of the propane industry in the United States. The volatility of these lighter hydrocarbons caused them to be known as "wild" because of the high vapor pressures of unrefined gasoline. On March 31, the New York Times reported on Snelling's work with liquefied gas, saying "a steel bottle will carry enough gas to light an ordinary home for three weeks".^[6]

It was during this time that Snelling, in cooperation with Frank P. Peterson, Chester Kerr, and Arthur Kerr, created ways to liquefy the LP gases during the refining of natural gasoline. Together, they established American Gasol Co., the first commercial marketer of propane. Snelling had produced relatively pure propane by 1911, and on March 25, 1913, his method of processing and producing LP gases was issued patent #1,056,845.^[7] A separate method of producing LP gas through compression was created by Frank Peterson and its patent granted on July 2, 1912.^[8]

The 1920s saw increased production of LP gas, with the first year of recorded production totaling 223,000 US gallons (840 m³) in 1922. In 1927, annual marketed LP gas production reached 1 million US gallons (3,800 m³), and by 1935, the annual sales of LP gas had reached 56 million US gallons (210,000 m³). Major industry developments in the 1930s included the introduction of railroad tank car transport, gas odorization, and the construction of local bottle-filling plants. The year 1945 marked the first year that annual LP gas sales reached a billion gallons. By 1947, 62% of all U.S. homes had been equipped with either natural gas or propane for cooking.^[7]

In 1950, 1,000 propane-fueled buses were ordered by the Chicago Transit Authority, and by 1958, sales in the U.S. had reached 7 billion US gallons (26,000,000 m³) annually. In 2004, it was reported to be a growing $8-billion to $10-billion industry with over 15 billion US gallons (57,000,000 m³) of propane being used annually in the U.S.^[9]

The "prop-" root found in "propane" and names of other compounds with three-carbon chains was derived from "propionic acid",^[10] which in turn was named after the Greek words protos (meaning first) and pion (fat).