Nikolaus August Otto

Otto, Nikolaus August

 

Born June 10, 1832, in Holzhausen, Nassau; died Jan. 26, 1891, in Cologne. German designer and entrepreneur.

After graduating from a Realschule in 1848, Otto was involved in commercial activities. Jointly with the German engineer E. Langen, he developed an air-standard engine in 1867. He also built an improved four-stroke gas engine in 1876 using the idea of the four-stroke compression cycle proposed in 1862 by the French engineer A. Beau de Rochas. In 1884, Otto suggested the use of an electric ignition, which made it possible to use a liquid fuel for the engine.

REFERENCES

Radtsig, A. A. Istoriia teplotekhniki. Moscow-Leningrad, 1936.
Bernal, J. Nauka v istorii obshchestva. Moscow, 1956. (Translated from English.)
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