For most of his life, Wolfgang Jan Nepomucen of Oleksów Gniewosz, coat of arms Rawicz, was better known as a publicist, painter and veteran of national uprisings. He tried his hand as an entrepreneur several times, but his efforts were only rewarded towards the end of his life. The much-desired success in the oil industry allowed him to pursue social activities.

He was born on 31 October 1826 in the village of Ponik, which was then the Krakow province of the Kingdom of Poland, to Franciszek Gniewosz, a minor nobleman, and Wiktoria Teofila, nee Szokalska. After graduating with honours from the secondary school of St Mary Magdalene in Poznań, he became involved in conspiracy activities, for which he was prosecuted by the Prussian authorities. Arrested in 1846, he spent a year in Moabit prison. After his release, he took an active part in the Wielkopolska Uprising.

He combined his patriotic activities with economic ones. He established a prosperous machine factory in his native village, but soon returned to serve the national cause: in 1863 he joined the January Uprising. This time, the consequences were more serious. After the family manor house and the factory in Ponik were burnt down and the entire estate confiscated by the Russians, Gniewosz fled first to France and then to Switzerland. There he became involved in timber production.

After returning from exile, he and his family moved to Galicia, where he took over the management of the glassworks in Pokuttia. It was then that he heard about the emerging oil industry. In the 1870s, he decided to settle in the nearby oil fields of Krosno and try his luck at mining. Unfortunately for Gniewosz, his ventures at that time were unsuccessful as his wells only reached trace amounts of oil.

The failures resulting from these unsuccessful investments were the reason why he moved to Lviv. In the capital of Galicia, he became known as a publisher and journalist. In the pages of his magazines Sztandar Polski and Strażnica Polska he became famous for his sharp tongue, and his texts stirred up many emotions, often leading to lawsuits. In 1889, harassed by confiscations of entire print runs, Gniewosz decided to abandon his publishing activities and return permanently to Krosno.

Already a year earlier, he had re-engaged in the oil industry and entered into a partnership with the baron Ludwig Graeve from Wielkopolska. Together they began prospecting in the oil fields on Edmund Łoziński's estate in Potok. In August 1891, a drilling in the location indicated by Gniewosz resulted in a spectacular gas ignition that caused a sensation in the press. The Kurier Lwowski of 30 August reported a loud bang heard within a radius of several kilometres.

Although Greave and Gniewosz were no longer the owners of the rights to extract oil in Potok (they sold them in 1890 to "Hanowerskie Galicyjskie Gwarectwo Naftowe" [Hanover and Galicia Petroleum Guild]), their success encouraged them to continue prospecting in Turaszówka, Białobrzegi and Krosno. Subsequent drillings proved successful, which gave Gniewosz the means to concentrate on his social activities; for example, he strongly supported initiatives to build new schools in the area.

In addition to his activities in the extraction industry, Jan Nepomucen Gniewosz continued to be an artist: he wrote newspaper articles and also found fulfillment as a painter. Jan Nepomucen of Oleksów Gniewosz died on 9 September 1892 in Krosno. The funeral ceremony was attended by a large crowd of people from the town and surrounding villages. Gniewosz was accompanied on his last journey by numerous businessmen and workers representing the oil industry.