Pioneers
Rudolf Diesel
ROO-dolf DEE-zel
Germany
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The German engineer who invented the compression-ignition engine that bears his name, patented in 1892 and running by 1897, deliberately designed for higher thermodynamic efficiency than the steam engines of his day. Diesel engines came to power ships, trucks, trains and generators worldwide, binding twentieth century transport to oil.
Facts
Death DateDiesel disappeared from the deck of the mail steamer Dresden crossing the English Channel on the night of 29 September 1913 and was presumed drowned; his body was never conclusively identified. Defining ContributionThe compression-ignition diesel engine, patented 1892 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
The diesel engine bound heavy transport to petroleum fuels for over a century.
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