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Rudolf Diesel, inventor do motor diesel
Diesel’s disappearance continues to fuel conspiracy theories, which point to several suspects for his death — from German spies who wanted to prevent him from revealing his secrets to the British Navy, to agents from large oil groups. Officially, debts led him to suicide.
The end of the 19th century was an exciting period for industry across the world. THE steam power it had boosted rail transport and allowed factories to prosper.
Furthermore, Carl Benz had meanwhile presented the world with the first vehicle powered by a combustion engine. Completed in 1885 and patented in 1886the invention would revolutionize individual mobility. But the automobile patented by Benz It wasn’t the only solution..
Em 1892, Rudolf Diesel registered the patent for his revolutionary “compression ignition engine”, or, as we call it today, the motor a diesel.
The engine used highly compressed hot air to ignite the fuel, which means that diesel engines don’t use spark plugsunlike gasoline engines. In 1912, Diesel engines already powered thousands of factories and generators around the world.
However, on September 29, 1913, Diesel disappeared during a crossing of the North Sea, between Belgium and England, when he was on his way to a meeting with the British Navy. The German mechanical engineer and inventor intended to discuss the use of his invention to propel submarines.
On October 10, almost two weeks after his disappearance, the inventor was found floating in water.
As conspiracy theories continue to surround Diesel’s disappearance, and similar to the mystery game “Cluedo”, his death is surrounded by several suspects with possible motives.
Some suspect that it has thrown overboard for being drowning in debtwhile others admit that it was murdered by German spiesdue to the importance of its engine in the first German submarines.
A newspaper even stated at the time that Diesel would have been murdered by agents of large oil groupssince its engines could run on alternative fuels, such as peanut oil or vegetable oil.
The truth is that no one knows for sure what happened to Rudolf Diesel, says , and that’s what continues to make the story surrounding his death so fascinating. The official conclusion was that it had committed suicideallegedly due to accumulated debts and the deterioration of their health status.
Despite having many patents to its name and being, at the time, one of the most important figures in industrial innovationDiesel’s financial situation had been harmed by maus investments.
Although plausible, there are those who consider the official conclusion too simple and suspect that there was foul play behind the death of the German inventor. In the years since the first speculations, new stories and details have circulated.
Among these narratives is that he left his wife a bag of moneytogether with documents relating to debtswith instructions to open it the week following her disappearance — and with a cross marked next to the corresponding date in the diary.
These elements point to suicidebut it is unlikely that the definitive truth will ever be established.
Diesel’s legacy endures to this day, but the inventor didn’t live to witness the introduction and popularization of its revolutionary engine in the automotive industry.
His invention, first used mainly in heavy industry, in generators, ships and heavy vehicles, only decades later would it reach the automobile of passengers, in prototypes such as the Citroën Rosalie diesel, in 1933, and with series production models from the mid-1930s.
And 130 years after patenting his invention, Diesel has long held a secure place in the pantheon of illustrious characters behind words that we use in our daily lives, without us knowing them — like Charles Boycott, Samuel Morse, Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, or… John Montagu, whose enormous contribution to history will not need to be explained.
