The Vaseline journey started in 1859, when a 22 year old chemist from Brooklyn, New York named Robert A. Chesebrough, went to Pennsylvania to investigate an oil well. The oil industry was in its infancy, and Chesebrough, like many, was hoping to earn profit out of it. By 1870, Chesebrough was marketing his petroleum jelly product by the name of Vaseline, and within ten years, the product's increased exposure and popularity meant that almost every household in America had a jar of Vaseline. Chesebrough expanded his business to Canada, the United Kingdom and various British colonies all over the world. New mothers used it as an absorbent shield for diaper rash.