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renowned paper Theory and Design of a Rational Thermal Engine to replace the Steam Engine and Combustion Engines Known Today.' In 1894 he filed for a patent for his engine and then was almost killed when his prototype exploded. The engine did, however, prove that fuel could be ignited without a spark. He spent the time he was hospitalized studying the internal combustion engines of Nikolaus Otto and the writings of Sadi Carnot to come up with improvements for his model. He managed to operate his first successful engine in 1896 and was granted a patent for an internal combustion engine AKA the diesel engine in 1898. This first successful engine was run on peanut oil in line with his hopes that farmers could produce their own fuel.

His dream of this engine enabling the small craftsman and artisans to withstand the power of big business remained unfulfilled as big business instead snapped up his idea. Rudolf Diesel was a millionaire several times over. Unfortunately, although he was an amazing engineer and inventor Rudolf was absolutely useless with controlling money and by the time of his tragic death in 1913 he was broke.

In 1908 Rudolf worked with a Swiss firm called Saurer to create a faster running engine, but the automobile industry was slow to adopt the technology. As Rudolf said The automobile engine will come, and then I will consider my life's work complete,' unfortunately the first diesel engine used in a truck was in 1924 and Rudolf died in 1913.

Rudolf's death was a shock to everyone and conspiracy theorists went berserk when his body was found floating in the North Sea. He boarded the ferry Dresden to travel to London where he was due to be the guest of honour at the opening of a new diesel factory. At 10pm after dinner on September 29th, 1913 he retired to his cabin and wasn't seen alive again. The general consensus is that he committed suicide as he was in debt, but there are also theories that the Germans killed him to keep him from selling his engines to the British & US armed forces. Whatever really happened we'll never know, but maybe one day we'll see vehicles using biodiesel as opposed to diesel in his honour.

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