Oil lamp

Lamp used for lighting by burning oil

2 min read

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Interest in “Oil lamp” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-25.

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2026-01-27Peak: 1,0572026-02-25

30-day total: 10,097

Key Takeaways

An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source.
They work in the same way as a candle but with fuel that is liquid at room temperature, so that a container for the oil is required.
Oil lamps are a form of lighting, and were used as an alternative to candles before the use of electric lights.
These in turn were replaced by the kerosene lamp in about 1850.
Sources of fuel for oil lamps include a wide variety of plants such as nuts (walnuts, almonds and kukui) and seeds (sesame, olive, castor, or flax).

An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. They work in the same way as a candle but with fuel that is liquid at room temperature, so that a container for the oil is required. A textile wick drops down into the oil, and is lit at the end, burning the oil as it is drawn up the wick.

Oil lamps are a form of lighting, and were used as an alternative to candles before the use of electric lights. Starting in 1780, the Argand lamp quickly replaced other oil lamps still in their basic ancient form. These in turn were replaced by the kerosene lamp in about 1850. In small towns and rural areas the latter continued in use well into the 20th century, until such areas were finally electrified and light bulbs could be used.

Sources of fuel for oil lamps include a wide variety of plants such as nuts (walnuts, almonds and kukui) and seeds (sesame, olive, castor, or flax). Also widely used were animal fats (butter, ghee, fish oil, shark liver, whale blubber, or seal). Camphine, made of purified spirits of turpentine, and burning fluid, a mixture of turpentine and alcohol, were sold as lamp fuels starting in the 1830s as the whale oil industry declined. Sales of both camphene and burning fluid decreased in the late 1800s as other sources of lighting, such as kerosene made from petroleum, gas lighting and electric lighting, began to predominate.

Most modern lamps (such as fueled lanterns) have been replaced by gas-based or petroleum-based fuels to operate when emergency non-electric light is required. Oil lamps are currently used primarily for their ambience.