On January 7, 1913, W. M. Burton received U.S. Patent No. 1,049,667 on the Manufacture of Gasoline:

Burton’s process used heat to “crack” oil into gasoline, making the recovery of gasoline more efficient (more the doubling the amount of gasoline that can be recovered), and saving a tremendous amount of crude oil. Although largely replaced by catalytic processes Burton’s process is still in use today.