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Timeline of motor and engine technology
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<h2 id="19th-century">19th Century</h2> <ul><li>1806 – <a href="/facts/Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Isaac_de_Rivaz/Vyrv7CGq">François Isaac de Rivaz</a> invented a <a href="/facts/De_Rivaz_engine/0FyKRxUP">hydrogen powered engine</a>, the first successful <a href="/facts/Internal_combustion_engine/Ju4BXzj0">internal combustion engine</a>.</li> <li>1807 – <a href="/facts/Nic%25C3%25A9phore_Ni%25C3%25A9pce/J5oBtaUb">Nicéphore Niépce</a> and his brother Claude build a fluid piston internal combustion engine, the <a href="/facts/Pyr%25C3%25A9olophore/3vle05kp">Pyréolophore</a> and use it to power a boat up the river <a href="/facts/Sa%25C3%25B4ne/pth0RrXu">Saône</a>.</li> <li>1816 – <a href="/facts/Robert_Stirling/sa44YAWD">Robert Stirling</a> invented his hot air <a href="/facts/Stirling_engine/mvvKyMGI">Stirling engine</a>, and what we now call a "<a href="/facts/Regenerative_heat_exchanger/8pW9hzek">regenerator</a>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li>1821 – <a href="/facts/Michael_Faraday/NDcc3lyt">Michael Faraday</a> builds an <a href="/facts/Electric_motor/ArD7BGDa">electricity-powered motor</a>.</li> <li>1824 – <a href="/facts/Nicolas_L%25C3%25A9onard_Sadi_Carnot/atzzIKJB">Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot</a> first publishes that the efficiency of a <a href="/facts/Heat_engine/t1gq4r5d">heat engine</a> depends on the temperature difference between an engine and its environment.</li> <li>1837 – First American patent for an electric motor (<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US132">U.S. patent 132</a>).</li> <li>1850 – The first explicit statement of the <a href="/facts/First_law_of_thermodynamics/hjL95WCr">first</a> and <a href="/facts/Second_law_of_thermodynamics/m7SJ2eeH">second law of thermodynamics</a>, given by <a href="/facts/Rudolf_Clausius/RMgFgY7I">Rudolf Clausius</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li>1860 – Lenoir 2 cycle engine<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li>1872 – Brayton Engine</li> <li>1877 – <a href="/facts/Nicolaus_Otto/CtBoqHsx">Nicolaus Otto</a> patents a four-stroke <a href="/facts/Internal_combustion_engine/Ju4BXzj0">internal combustion engine</a> (<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US194047">U.S. patent 194,047</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>1882 – <a href="/facts/James_Atkinson_(inventor)/ShbzCwAc">James Atkinson</a> invents the <a href="/facts/Atkinson_cycle/cXdrwjju">Atkinson cycle</a> engine, now common in some hybrid vehicles.</li> <li>1885 – <a href="/facts/Gottlieb_Daimler/zR2rvdbW">Gottlieb Daimler</a> patents the first <a href="/facts/Supercharger/gvEtspvw">supercharger</a>.</li> <li>1886 – <a href="/facts/Hot-bulb_engine/BYyz15Wp">Hot-bulb engine</a> was established by <a href="/facts/Herbert_Akroyd_Stuart/UhczeMtw">Herbert Akroyd Stuart</a>, <a href="/facts/Gottlieb_Daimler/zR2rvdbW">Gottlieb Daimler</a> invents the <a href="/facts/Petrol_engine/oj3XzkQU">Petrol engine</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li>1888 – An AC <a href="/facts/Induction_motor/DgTnMmJM">induction motor</a> is featured in a paper published by <a href="/facts/Galileo_Ferraris/Fmorp4qC">Galileo Ferraris</a> and is patented in the U.S. by <a href="/facts/Nikola_Tesla/MzqGhnkj">Nikola Tesla</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li> <li>1892 – <a href="/facts/Rudolf_Diesel/N9LXK47e">Rudolf Diesel</a> patents the <a href="/facts/Diesel_engine/9B9opxvA">Diesel engine</a> (<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US608845">U.S. patent 608,845</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li>1899 – <a href="/facts/Ferdinand_Porsche/RnnGThYB">Ferdinand Porsche</a> creates the <a href="/facts/Lohner%25E2%2580%2593Porsche/qdT9FvTc">Lohner–Porsche</a>, the first <a href="/facts/Hybrid_vehicle/yzQ3QQLA">hybrid vehicle</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="20th-century">20th Century</h2> <ul><li>1903 – <a href="http://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/dorev-knigi/ciolkovskiy/issl-03st.html">The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices</a> was published by <a href="/facts/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky/s2n3Nb6A">Konstantin Tsiolkovsky</a></li> <li>1905 – Alfred Büchi patents the <a href="/facts/Turbocharger/xuabwHlB">turbocharger</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li>1913 – <a href="/facts/Ren%25C3%25A9_Lorin/84vGqA3H">René Lorin</a> invents the <a href="/facts/Ramjet/wFschau9">ramjet</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li> <li>1915 – <a href="/facts/Leonard_Dyer/8njE0gcd">Leonard Dyer</a> invents a <a href="/facts/Six-stroke_engine/I8gHYNhT">six-stroke engine</a>, now known as the Crower six-stroke engine named after his reinventor Bruce Crower.</li> <li>1926 – <a href="/facts/Robert_H._Goddard/tYmyRRta">Robert H. Goddard</a> launched the first <a href="/facts/Liquid-propellant_rocket/TAonrVDn">liquid-fueled rocket</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></li> <li>1929 – <a href="/facts/Felix_Wankel/an2IKc2M">Felix Wankel</a> patents the <a href="/facts/Wankel_engine/IstzAyor">Wankel rotary engine</a> (<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US2988008">U.S. patent 2,988,008</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></li> <li>Late 1930s – <a href="/facts/Hans_von_Ohain/M2TgMa7N">Hans von Ohain</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> and <a href="/facts/Frank_Whittle/sQysmK64">Frank Whittle</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> separately build pioneering <a href="/facts/Gas_turbine/JJJNwXrG">gas turbine</a> engines intended for aircraft propulsion, leading to the pioneering <a href="/facts/Turbojet/8FMD6dNg">turbojet</a> powered flights in 1939 Germany and 1941 England.</li> <li>1939 – The BMW company's <a href="/facts/BMW_801/3G0FNsq2">BMW 801</a> aviation <a href="/facts/Radial_engine/tS0ljlb7">radial engine</a> pioneers the use of an early form of an <a href="/facts/Engine_control_unit/Q1uYhmyN">engine control unit</a>, the <a href="/facts/Engine_control_unit/Q1uYhmyN"><i>Kommandogerät</i></a>.</li> <li>1940s – Ralph Miller patents his <a href="/facts/Miller_cycle/blvoAMmL">Miller cycle</a> engine.</li> <li>1954 – <a href="/facts/Felix_Wankel/an2IKc2M">Felix Wankel</a> creates the first working <a href="/facts/Wankel_engine/IstzAyor">Wankel engine</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a></li> <li>1957 – Rambler Rebel announced <a href="http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/restoration/restoration-tips/1957_amc_rambler_rebel">Electrojector</a> electronic fuel injection option, however no production models were offered with the option.</li> <li>1964 – <a href="/facts/Ion_engine/cjt6M89p">Ion engine</a> invented.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a></li> <li>1966 – <a href="/facts/RD-0410/3qUM6crr">RD-0410</a> <a href="/facts/Nuclear_thermal_rocket/p2uSHk3l">nuclear thermal rocket</a> engine was ground-tested.</li> <li>1960s – <a href="/facts/Alternator_(auto)/PaxsaKHP">alternators</a> replace generators on automobile engines.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a></li> <li>1970s – <a href="/facts/Electronic_ignition/7Rqqltpr">electronically controlled ignition</a> appears in automobile engines.</li> <li>1975 – <a href="/facts/Catalytic_converter/KsP1ecPY">Catalytic converters</a> are first widely introduced on production automobiles in the US to comply with tightening EPA regulations on auto exhaust.</li> <li>1980s – electronically controlled ignition improved to reduce pollution.</li> <li>1980s – electronic <a href="/facts/Fuel_injection/0u4SxFyG">fuel injection</a> appears on gasoline automobile engines.</li> <li>1989 – <a href="/facts/Six-stroke_engine/I8gHYNhT">The Bajulaz Six-Stroke Engine</a> was invented by the Bajulaz S A company, based in <a href="/facts/Geneva/14gXxjcq">Geneva</a>, Switzerland; it has <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US4809511">U.S. patent 4,809,511</a> and <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US4513568">U.S. patent 4,513,568</a>.</li> <li>1990s – <a href="/facts/Hybrid_vehicle/yzQ3QQLA">Hybrid vehicles</a> that run on an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor charged by <a href="/facts/Regenerative_braking/hzhCxYlr">regenerative braking</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Timeline_of_heat_engine_technology/lcb9ed5F">Timeline of heat engine technology</a> for a view of the human understanding of the interchangeability of work and heat.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Aeolipile | Steam Turbine, Invention & Usage | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/aeolipile" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/technology/aeolipile</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Dickinson, Henry Winram (1963). a short history of the steam engine. CUP Archive. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qQU6AAAAIAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=qQU6AAAAIAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Thomas Newcomen | Biography, Steam Engine, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-08-01. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Newcomen" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Newcomen</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Dickinson, H. W. (2022-01-26). A Short History of the Steam Engine. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-75104-2. <a href="978-0-429-75104-2" target="_blank">978-0-429-75104-2</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Robert Stirling | Heat engine, Renewable energy, Air engine | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Stirling" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Stirling</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Stirling engine". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100533419" target="_blank">https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100533419</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Rudolf Clausius | Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Entropy | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolf-Clausius" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolf-Clausius</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Étienne Lenoir | Internal Combustion Engine, Automobile, Gas Engine | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Etienne-Lenoir" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Etienne-Lenoir</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Nikolaus Otto | Internal Combustion, Automobile Engines & Inventor | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikolaus-Otto" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikolaus-Otto</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Gottlieb Daimler | Automotive Pioneer, Internal Combustion Engine & Industrialist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gottlieb-Daimler" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gottlieb-Daimler</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Bill Drury, Control Techniques Drives and Controls Handbook, page xiv <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vDQHzeEmSfUC&dq=tesla+Ferraris+induction&pg=PR14" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=vDQHzeEmSfUC&dq=tesla+Ferraris+induction&pg=PR14</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"How Rudolf Diesel's engine changed the world". BBC News. 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-38302874" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/news/business-38302874</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Turbochargers – USC Viterbi School of Engineering". illumin.usc.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://illumin.usc.edu/turbochargers/" target="_blank">https://illumin.usc.edu/turbochargers/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Ramjet | Supersonic, Jet Engines, Propulsion | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-07-12. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/ramjet" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/technology/ramjet</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"95 Years Ago: Goddard's First Liquid-Fueled Rocket - NASA". 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-goddards-first-liquid-fueled-rocket/" target="_blank">https://www.nasa.gov/history/95-years-ago-goddards-first-liquid-fueled-rocket/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>seanm (2012-09-14). "Robert H. Goddard: American Rocket Pioneer". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/stories/robert-h-goddard-american-rocket-pioneer" target="_blank">https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/stories/robert-h-goddard-american-rocket-pioneer</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Wankel engine | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Wankel-engine" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/technology/Wankel-engine</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Jet Engines". cs.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/ww2/projects/jet-airplanes/planes.html" target="_blank">https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/ww2/projects/jet-airplanes/planes.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Sir Frank Whittle | Jet engine pioneer, RAF officer, engineer | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frank-Whittle" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frank-Whittle</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Wankel rotary engine", World Encyclopedia, Philip's, 2004, doi:10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-954609-1, retrieved 2024-08-02 <a href="978-0-19-954609-1" target="_blank">978-0-19-954609-1</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Webb-Mack, Zoë. "A Brief History of Ion Propulsion". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/723/a-brief-history-of-ion-propulsion" target="_blank">https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/723/a-brief-history-of-ion-propulsion</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"Alternator | Generator, Voltage Regulator & AC Power | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-07-12. Retrieved 2024-08-02. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/alternator" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/technology/alternator</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>