| Nikolaus Otto AKA Nikolaus August Otto Born: 14-Jun-1832
Birthplace: Holzhausen, Germany
Died: 26-Jan-1891
Location of death: Cologne, Germany
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Melaten Cemetery, Cologne, Germany
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Engineer, Inventor, Business Nationality: Germany
Executive summary: Four-stroke internal-combustion engine Nikolaus Otto worked as a traveling salesman until he became fascinated by his era's breakthroughs in gas and steam engines, especially Étienne Lenoir's development of an engine fueled by natural gas. He thought that a gaseous fuel would be more practical, so Otto began working on an engine fueled by liquid gasoline. Despite having no training or experience in mechanical design, he built his first experimental gasoline-powered engine in 1861, a device far more efficient than Lenoir's. In 1864 he formed N.A. Otto & Cie, and several key developments toward the motorization of vehicles took place at Otto's small shop in Cologne. The company's early designers included Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Franz Reuleaux. In 1876, working with Daimler and Maybach, Otto built the first four-stroke internal combustion engine, and this design (often called the "Otto cycle") formed the basis for Karl Benz's development of a two-stroke engine in 1879. In 1884 Otto invented the first practical low voltage magnetic ignition. In 1886, however, a German court invalidated the bulk of his patent rights -- a decision widely viewed as unjust then and now. After the ruling Otto sank into depression, and died in 1891.
In its long corporate evolution, the engine manufacturing firm founded by Nikolaus Otto has been known as Langen Otto & Roosen (1869-72), Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz AG (1872-1921), Motorenfabrik Deutz AG (1921-30), Humboldt-Deutzmotoren AG (1930-38), Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz AG (or KHD, 1938-97), and Deutz AG since 1997. Otto's son, Gustav Otto, founded the company that became Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW). Father: Phillip Wilhelm Otto (postman)
Brother: William Otto (owned textile business)
Wife: Anna Katherina Gossi-Rouply Otto (b. 2-Oct-1839, dated 1877-86, m. May-1886, d. 16-Dec-1914)
Son: Gustav Otto (founder of BMW, b. 12-Jan-1883, d. 28-Feb-1926 suicide)
Automotive Hall of Fame
Deutz AG Founder & President (1864-86)
German Ancestry
Risk Factors: Depression
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