Motor/Engine History
1506 Leonardo Da Vinci (Italy) first brainstormed the design for a compression-less engine.1680 Christian Huygens (Netherlands) laid the groundwork for a gunpowder powered combustion engine.1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz (Switzerland) invented an internal combustion engine using a hydrogen and oxygen mixed fuel source.1825 Samuel Brown (England) converted a steam engine to burn gas.1854 Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci (Italy) patented a working, internal combustion engine.1860 Etienne Lenoir (France) displayed his gas burning internal combustion engine, the first to be produced in any significant number.1875 Nikolaus Otto (Germany) invented a fully functional four stroke engine dubbed the “Otto Cycle Engine.”1885 Gottlieb Daimler (Germany) paved the way for the modern gas engine with a vertical cylinder, carburetor injected prototype, used to power the two wheeled Reitwagen.1886 Daimler expanded the Reitwagon, using this engine to build the first 4-wheeled motorized vehicle.1886 Karl Benz (Germany) became the first person to patent a gas-fueled car.1889 Daimler yet again improved his engine to include two V-slant cylinders and more efficient, mushroom valves.1890 Wilhelm Maybach (Germany) constructed the first four cylinder, four stroke engine.1950 Cole Brothers Circus (United States) redefines automobile cabin space, preparing to implement the never before seen clown car routine.1984 The company later known as Power Wheels (United States) first opened its doors in San Francisco, selling 1,000,000 battery powered children vehicles by 1990.1999 The now Fischer-Price owned Power Wheels announced the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Ride-On, contributing directly to a record sales year.