Erle P. Halliburton biography
Date of birth : 1891-09-22
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Henning, Tennessee,U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Science and Technology
Last modified : 2011-10-03
Credited as : Inventor, Oil well cementing,
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As a young man Erle P. Halliburton learned and improved the technique of oil well cementing, which strengthens the walls of oil wells and reduces the danger of explosions during drilling. He was fired from his first oil industry job for making unauthorized changes to cementing procedures, and (according to company folklore) hocked his wife's wedding ring to finance his own cementing business, the New Method Oil Well Cementing Company in 1919. The firm, now known as Halliburton, started with one mule-drawn wagon, but business boomed after Halliburton developed a mechanized mixer that ended the need for hand-mixing of cement, a tedious chore given that reinforcing a single well requires up to thousands of bags of cement. By the 1950s the business had cemented 100,000 wells worldwide, and purchased all its key rivals. Halliburton (the man) was estimated to be worth $75-100M, making him one of the richest Americans by his 1957 death.
Halliburton held 38 patents for oil-related tools and several unrelated inventions. As an early jet-setter he grew frustrated at having his luggage bumped and dented, and he had his engineers design sturdy aluminum luggage and established the Halliburton Case Company. This subsidiary was sold in 1960 and is now known as Zero Halliburton.
