Automotive History (Important People)

[arnab]

Nicolaus Otto

One of the most important landmarks in engine design comes from Nicolaus Otto who in 1876 invented an effective gas motor engine. Nicolaus Otto built the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine called the "Otto Cycle Engine," and when he completed his engine, he built it into a motorcycle.

Nicolaus Otto was born on June 14, 1832 in Holzhausen, Germany. Otto's first occupation was as a traveling salesman selling tea, coffee, and sugar. He soon developed an interest in the new technologies of the day and began experimenting with building four-stroke engines (inspired by Lenoir's two-stroke gas-driven internal combustion engine). After meeting Eugen Langen, a technician and owner of a sugar factory, Otto quit his job, and in 1864, the duo started the world's first engine manufacturing company N.A. Otto & Cie (now DEUTZ AG, Köln). In 1867, the pair were awarded a Gold Medal at the Paris World Exhibition for their atmospheric gas engine built a year earlier.

In May 1876, Nicolaus Otto built the first practical four-stroke piston cycle internal combustion engine. He continued to develop his four-stroke engine after 1876 and he considered his work finished after his invention of the first magneto ignition system for low voltage ignition in 1884. Otto's patent (see drawing below) was overturned in 1886 in favor of the patent granted to Alphonse Beau de Roaches for his four-stroke engine. However, Otto built a working engine while Roaches' design stayed on paper. On October 23, 1877, another patent for a gas-motor engine was issued to Nicolaus Otto, and Francis and William Crossley.

Nicolaus Otto died at age 59, on January 26, 1891, in Cologne.

Gottlieb Daimler

In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (together with his design partner Wilhelm Maybach) took Nicolaus Otto's internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. Daimler's connection to Otto was a direct one; Daimler worked as technical director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which Nikolaus Otto co-owned in 1872. There is some controversy as to who built the first motorcycle Otto or Daimler.

The 1885 Daimler - Maybach engine was small, lightweight, fast, used a gasoline-injected carburetor, and had a vertical cylinder. The size, speed, and efficiency of the engine allowed for a revolution in car design. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach (made by Wilhelm Wimpff & Sohn) and adapted it to hold his engine, thereby designing the world's first four-wheeled automobile.

gottlieb diamler 4 WheelerIn 1889, Daimler invented a V-slanted two cylinder, four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves. Just like Otto's 1876 engine, Daimler's new engine set the basis for all car engines going forward. Also in 1889, Daimler and Maybach built their first automobile from the ground up, they did not adapt another purpose vehicle as had always been done previously. The new Daimler automobile had a four-speed transmission and obtained speeds of 10 mph.

Daimler founded the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890 to manufacture his designs. Eleven years later, Wilhelm Maybach designed the Mercedes. A few years later left Maybach left Daimler to set up his own factory for making engines for Zeppelin airships.

In 1894, the first automobile race in the world was won by a car with a Daimler engine.
In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Company, the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900.

Karl Benz

Karl Friedrich Benz was born in 1844 in Baden Muehlburg, Germany (now part of Karlsruhe). He was the son of an engine driver. Benz attended the Karlsruhe grammar school and later the Karlsruhe Polytechnic University. In 1871, He founded his first company with partner August Ritter, the "Iron Foundry and Machine Shop" a supplier of building materials.

Benz began his work on a two-stroke engine, in hopes of finding a new income. He received his first patent in 1879. In 1883, he founded Benz & Company to produce industrial engines in Mannheim, Germany. He then began designing a "motor carriage", with a four-stroke engine (based on Nicolaus Otto's patent). Benz designed his engine (958cc, 0.75hp) and the body for the three-wheel vehicle with an electric ignition, differential gears, and water-cooling. The car was first driven in Mannheim in 1885. On January 29, 1886, he was granted a patent for his gas-fueled automobile (DRP 37435) and in July, he began selling his automobile to the public.

In 1893, the Benz Velo became the world's first inexpensive, mass-produced car.

In 1903, Karl Benz retired from Benz & Company; his designs were already outdated by Gottlieb Daimler. He served as a member of the supervisory board of Daimler-Benz AG from 1926, when the company was formed, until his death.

He married Bertha Ringer in 1872, who played an active role in his business, together they had five children. Karl Benz passed away in 1929.

Rudolf Diesel

Rudolf Diesel was born in Paris in 1858. His parents were Bavarian immigrants. Rudolf Diesel was educated at Munich Polytechnic. After graduation he was employed as a refrigerator engineer. However, he true love lay in engine design. Rudolf Diesel designed many heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine. In 1893, he published a paper describing an engine with combustion within a cylinder, the internal combustion engine. In 1894, he filed for a patent for his new invention, dubbed the diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel was almost killed by his engine when it exploded. However, his engine was the first that proved that fuel could be ignited without a spark. He operated his first successful engine in 1897.

In 1898, Rudolf Diesel was granted patent #608,845 for an "internal combustion engine" the Diesel engine.

The diesel engines of today are refined and improved versions of Rudolf Diesel's original concept. They are often used in submarines, ships, locomotives, and large trucks and in electric generating plants.

Though best known for his invention of the pressure-ignited heat engine that bears his name, Rudolf Diesel was also a well-respected thermal engineer and a social theorist. Rudolf Diesel's inventions have three points in common: They relate to heat transference by natural physical processes or laws; they involve markedly creative mechanical design; and they were initially motivated by the inventor's concept of sociological needs. Rudolf Diesel originally conceived the diesel engine to enable independent craftsmen and artisans to compete with large industry.

At Augsburg, on August 10, 1893, Rudolf Diesel's prime model, a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power for the first time. Rudolf Diesel spent two more years making improvements and in 1896 demonstrated another model with the theoretical efficiency of 75 percent, in contrast to the ten percent efficiency of the steam engine. By 1898, Rudolf Diesel was a millionaire. His engines were used to power pipelines, electric and water plants, automobiles and trucks, and marine craft, and soon after were used in mines, oil fields, factories, and transoceanic shipping.

Henry Ford

Automobile manufacturer Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on his family's farm in Dearborn, Michigan. From the time he was a young boy, Ford enjoyed tinkering with machines. Farm work and a job in a Detroit machine shop afforded him ample opportunities to experiment. He later worked as a part-time employee for the Westinghouse Engine Company. By 1896, Ford had constructed his first horseless carriage which he sold in order to finance work on an improved model.

Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company in 1903, proclaiming, "I will build a car for the great multitude." In October 1908, he did so, offering the Model T for $950. In the Model T's nineteen years of production, its price dipped as low as $280. Nearly 15,500,000 were sold in the United States alone. The Model T heralds the beginning of the Motor Age; the car evolved from luxury item for the well-to-do to essential transportation for the ordinary man.

Automobile Assembly - Ford Motor CompanyFord revolutionized manufacturing. By 1914, his Highland Park, Michigan plant, using innovative production techniques, could turn out a complete chassis every 93 minutes. This was a stunning improvement over the earlier production time of 728 minutes. Using a constantly-moving assembly line, subdivision of labor, and careful coordination of operations, Ford realized huge gains in productivity.

In 1914, Ford began paying his employees five dollars a day, nearly doubling the wages offered by other manufacturers. He cut the workday from nine to eight hours in order to convert the factory to a three-shift workday. Ford's mass-production techniques would eventually allow for the manufacture of a Model T every 24 seconds. His innovations made him an international celebrity.

Ford's affordable Model T irrevocably altered American society. As more Americans owned cars, urbanization patterns changed. The United States saw the growth of suburbia, the creation of a national highway system, and a population entranced with the possibility of going anywhere anytime. Ford witnessed many of these changes during his lifetime, all the while personally longing for the agrarian lifestyle of his youth.

[rezwan]

nice post! very interesting to know abt the motoring pioneers!

[saleen_s7]

thanx for the info.. really helped me a lot..

[sakin_uttara]

arnab, i was working on the same post.. i am writing on 100 most importent people in Automotive industry... but not in that much details...

ny wayz thakx 4 da post...

[arnab]

arnab, i was working on the same post.. i am writing on 100 most importent people in Automotive industry... but not in that much details...

ny wayz thakx 4 da post...

just add on your findings here.....

[rawfin]

nice post bro!

[saleen_s7]

few years from now.... my name wil be there...

[brian'o'conner]

good post....

[sakin_uttara]

arnab, sure...

saleen_s7, we also hope so... !!!!

[sakin_uttara]

I'm posting by 10 name, there is no ranking here. All r equally importent. Some dates r blank becaouse i don't have the information

Gianni Agnelli (1921-): Italian Industrialist who turned his father’s company -- Fiat – into a colossus.
Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni (1916-): Took over Carrozzeria Touring in 1948; designed Ferrari Barchettas.
Bela Barenyi (1907-97): Mercedes-Benz engineer & father of modern car safety.
Zora Arkus-Duntov (1909-96): Racer, wrench, innovator; gave us Ardun Hemi-heads & a Corvette we could love.
Herbert Austin (1866-1941): Father of the small car, England’s Austin 7.
Walter O. Bentley (1888-1971): Designed and engineered big, strong Bentleys an Aston Martins to be fast and useful.
Giuseppe “Nuccio” Bertone (1914-97): Prolific Turinese coachbuilder whose eye for design and nose for talent inspired innovative forms.
Marc Birkigt (1 878-1953): Engineered immortal V-12 and H6 Hispano-Suizas.
W.F Bradley (1876-1970): World’s first motoring historian.
David Brown (1905-93): Saved Aston Martin after WWII and brought England its first world sports car championship.

[sakin_uttara]

Gordon Buehrig (1904-90): Responsible for finest Duesenberg styling and groundbreaking Cord 810 & 812.
Ettore Bugatti (1878-1941): Italian artist, mechanical innovator, made beautiful road & racing car.
Jean Bugatti (1909-39): Ettore’s son, designed last graceful look @ open-fendered cars, styling genius behind voluptuous Atlantic.
David Dunbar Buick (1854-1929): Scottish engineer mentored Charles Nash, Walter Chrysler, Louis Chevrolet – Durant created GM from his foundation.
Colin Chapman (1928-82): Founder of Lotus & modern racing-car design.
Louis Chevrolet (1878-1941): Racer & engineer, gave his name to Ford’s greatest rival.
Walter P. Chrysler (1875-1940): Engineer and entrepreneur, brought high technology to the working man.
Andre Citroen (1878-1935): Pioneered unit-body construction and volume-production front-wheel drive.
Edward N. Cole (1909-77): GM president, father of small block Chevy.
Gioachino Colombo (1903-97): Jano protégé during Alfa Romeo’s great years, designed Alfa 158-159, then classic Ferrari V-12 engine.

[sakin_uttara]

Errett Loban Cord (1894-1974): Maverick entrepreneur behind Cord and Duesenberg.
Paul Daimler (1869-1945): Engineered classic 1908 & 1914 Mercedes grand prix winners.
David E. Davis, Jr. (1930-): “Taught car magazines to sing”- William B. Ziff. Dean of American automotive critics - TIME magazine.
John Z. De Lorean (1925-): Brilliant Pontiac marketer, failed car company boss!
W. Edwards Deming (1900-93): Quality guru, discovered early and revered by Japanese carmakres.
Keith Duckworth (1930-): Designer of classic DFV V-8 racing engine, co-founder of Cosworth.
Frederick S. Duesenberg (1933-): Engineered immortal J and SJ, also America’s first grand prix winner.
William Crapo Durant (1861-1947): Giant who begat General Motors.
Harley J. Earl (1893-1969): GM’s first and most influential design chief.
Bernie Ecclestone (1930-): Turned grand prix racing into global sport/business.

[sakin_uttara]

Virgil M. Exner (1909-73): Chrysler’s chief designer in the 1950’s.
Battista “Pinin” Farina (1893-1966): Great Italian stylist, founder of prolific and influential Carrozzeria Pinin Farina, Ferrari’s stylemaker
Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988): Racer turned team owner turned manufacturar turned legend. Very name evokes all that is magical in automotive world.
Harvey Firestone (1868-1938): Tire industry pioneer.
Edsel Ford (1893-1943): Moved corporation forward when Henry I lost magic, did Continental, Model B, Indy Car.
Henry Ford (1863-1947): brought motoring to the masses.
Henry Ford II (1917-87): Put grandfather’s company back on map, took it global.
A.J. Foyt (1935-): Larger then life Indy racing legend.
William H.G. France (1909-92):Steamrolled NASCAR racing into prime-time entertainment.
Ernst Fuhramann (1918-95): Legendary Porsche engineer behind four-cam engine and 928.

[sakin_uttara]

this r the names i have written until now... guys plz do keep it ... u might need it ny time

[rawfin]

cool info man!