Walter Benona Sharp was born on December 12, 1870, in Tipton county, Tennessee. His parents, James R. and Amanda Forrest Sharp, moved to Texas when Walter was still a young child. Sharp began his business career at a very early age, and by 1890, he was operating a successful water well drilling company with his brother James R. Sharp. Walter Sharp then branched out to the drilling of oil wells and in 1893 drilled a dry hole in what was to be the famous Spindletop Field. Sharp next moved to the Corsicana and Sour Lake areas where he found limited amounts of oil. In 1901, soon after the first gusher at Spindletop, Sharp secured his fortune by trading leases and contracting for numerous wells. He next helped form the Moonshine Oil Company and later became president of Producers Oil Company. Sharp held an interest in the Texas Company and worked very closely with J.S. Cullinan in developing that company's oil holdings. Sharp was also co-founder of the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company, and aided Howard R. Hughes, Sr. in developing that company's famous Rock Bit, a type of drill bit Sharp was a daring innovator, always seeking better methods of drilling and producing oil, and to him can be traced many of the techniques which made the gigantic expansion of the oil industry in Texas possible. His willingness to innovate and to be involved first hand with the problems of the oil field led him to exert tremendous effort to extinguish a large oil field fire in the fall of 1912. Weakened from his exertions, he died at age 41 on November 28, 1912. Jump to: navigation, search December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: Volunteer State Other U.S. States Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Governor Phil Bredesen (D) Senators Bill Frist (R) Lamar Alexander (R) Official languages English Area 109,247 km² (36th)  - Land 106,846 km²  - Water 2,400 km² (2. ... ... Spindletop is an oil field located just south of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. ... Corsicana is a city located in Navarro County, Texas. ... Sour Lake is a city located in Hardin County, Texas. ... Hughes Tool Company was established in 1909 when Howard R. Hughes, Sr. ... Howard Robard Hughes, Sr. ... Jump to: navigation, search Drill bits are the cutters of drill tools. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1912 was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...