Between 1831 and 1838, Witham, Hildreth, Goeppert, and Johnston each observed the presence of spores and pollen in coals. During this period Ehrenberg demonstrated the presence of microfossils in flint and Mantell (1845) showed that the dinoflagellates in chalk were organic. By the late 1800's Schulze and Reinsch had each developed maceration techniques suitable for coals and other rocks. This period saw the publication of Dawson's work on "spore cases" in coal (Nova Scotia), Bennie and Kidston's seminal work on megaspores (Scotland), and M.C. White's description of "acritarchs" (New York).

Between 1913 and 1937 Thiessen studied spores in coal and demonstrated spore-based correlation of selected coal seams. Beginning in 1916 von Post pioneered the use of "pollen analysis" of bog peats to evaluate post-glacial climatic and vegetation change in northern Europe. Pollen analysis was widely applied in North America by Cain, Sears, Auer, Wilson, Antevs, Potzger, Buell, and Friesner between 1937 and 1954 and later expanded to lake-bottom sediments. The "Pollen Analysis Circular" appeared between 1940 and 1954, linking over 200 palynologists in 22 countries. Beginning in the late 1920's, Potonie and Thomson pioneered studies of palynomorphs in European lignites. Subsequently, studies of new categories of palynomorphs, including chitinozoa (Eisenack) and "hystrichospheres (Wetzel), were published. Soviet palynology expanded greatly in the 1930's with the work of Lyuber, Valtz, and many others. By the mid-1950's, several North American workers (Schopf, Wilson, Kosanke, Cross, and Spackman) focused on coal studies

Sanders (1937) recognized palynomorphs in petroleum and, in 1946, Royal Dutch Shell began integrating palynology with oil exploration. During this period Hoffmeister and Wilson demonstrated the correlation of two wells in Texas and Tschudy and Durham applied palynology to correlation problems in Venezuela. By the late 60's, most major oil companies had established palynology labs in support of their exploration activities.