On Sunday 3 February 2013
Rudolph Diesel was born to Theodor and Elise Diesel
in their small Paris apartment at 38 rue Notre-Dame de Nazareth. Theodore, in
his late twenties, met Elise in Paris in 1855, they were married shortly after.
Theodore was a leather worker, making small consumer goods, he had immigrated
from Augsburg in Bavaria, in 1848. Elise was also from Augsburg, she was the
daughter of a prosperous merchant.
Rudolph had an older sister, Louise, born in 1856,
as well as a younger one. The younger sister, Emma, was born in 1859. At that
time Theodore was having some business success, and moved the family into a new
apartment on "rue de la Fontaine au Roi", where Theodore establish
his small business downstairs. Theodore worked his shop from dawn to dusk, six
days a week. He was a strong disciplinarian, but unfortunately, a poor manager
of funds.
Rudolph was not allowed to bring friends over, and
grew into a shy, but curious youngster. He spent most of time drawing and his
curious nature almost got him killed when he tinkered with their apartment's
gas distribution system. Small lies and screw ups were not tolerated by
Rudolph's father, standard punishment was swift and hard.
Rudolph's artistic side was match with excellent
academic performance, he spoke three languages. German was spoken at home,
French at school, and English which was taught by his mom, a one time governess
in London. Rudolph sought refuge and solace spending his free time at the
'Conservatoire des Art Metiers'. A repository for odd and ends of inventions.
Rudolph finished elementary school, and was awarded a scholarship for
excellence.
Meanwhile, France under the Emperor Napoleon III,
was sliding into difficult times. A convenient target of this hardship was the
growing confederation known as Germany, and it's dominant Prussian influence.
The Diesel considered themselves Bavarian, with more of a French influence than
Prussian, but unfortunately France declared war on Prussia on July 19, 1869.
The French army was losing ground and displaced persons quickly engulfed Paris
seeking refuge. Being of German descent, the Diesels were ordered out of the
country. On September 6, the Diesels boarded a steamer from Rouen to New haven,
England.
With little comforts, the Diesels manage to get by,
Louise, the eldest daughter began to work in a private school. Rudolph was
enrolled in a London school to continue his education. He was most impressed by
the British Museum and the South Kensington Museum's exhibits of science and
engineering. Theodore's cousin, Betty Barnickel, heard of their misfortune and
offered to take in Rudolph into their home in Augsburg. So once again Rudolph
boarded a steamer across the channel to Rotterdam.
Betty Barnickle was married to Cristoph Barnickel,
he was a professor at the Augsburg's Royal District Trade School and they lived
in a modest, warm home. They quickly fell in love with Rudolph, after all he
was handsome, modest and intelligent. He was enrolled in a three year program
at Koniglichen Kreis-Gewerbsschule, which offered outlets for all his deepest
passion. Chemistry lab, art gallery, machine
shop and forge provided fertile ground for a young imaginative mind.
On his fourteen birthday, Rudolph announced he was
to become an engineer. He wrote to his parents in July, 1871, to let them know
his intentions to excel in his choice of career. With the war ending six month
earlier, Rudolph's parents had moved back to Paris.
Theodore was anxious for his son to start earning
some money, and soon after finishing industrial school, and placing first in
his class, Rudolph returned to Paris. Then tragedy struck, Rudolph's sister,
Louise, died of heart failure. With the Diesel Family grief-stricken, the
Barnickel renewed their offer to have Rudolph come live with them back in
Augsburg, Theodore accepted.
In 1883 Rudolph was enrolled in the mechanical
engineering program, and as usual he excelled, graduating the youngest student
with the highest marks ever. He was awarded a scholarship to Munchen
Polytechnic. In Munchen, his interest broaden. He made several friendships
during this time. Theodore and Elise then move to Munchen to find their
towering son, 185 cm, now a German citizen and granted a scholarship and a
deferment from the required three years of military service.
He found his parents a little strange, his father
had turn to spirituality soon after his daughters death, he soon set himself up
as a faith healer. In July 1879, Rudolph grew sicker as final examinations
approached. He was soon diagnosed as having typhus, and spent a miserable,
bedridden summer. He survived, but many Germans did not; Betty Barnickel did
not.
In January 1880, Rudolph joined the Sulzer Engine
Works in Winterthur Switzerland to begin his apprenticeship building
refrigeration and steam engines. Although "just" an apprentice, a
"bleu monteur" he grew more confident in his convictions and began
his harden belief that there must be a better way. A better way to use the
energy from the fuel that the most efficient steam plant used. At the time, 90%
of the fuel was wasted, a blasphemy to Rudolph, who was raised to loathe waste
from his strict father.
Then Rudolph read a book. A book by Sadi Carnot a
gifted engineer with a specialization of thermodynamics. Reflexion sur la
puissance motrisse de feu was published in 1824 and cut right to the heart of
the heat engine, and gave us the "First Law of Thermodynamics"; which
is "heat and mechanical energy are convertible to each other, but are
never created or destroyed, only changed in form". Along with the other
two "laws" Rudolph found the ideals he wanted to achieve.
As usual, Rudolph made quite an impression with his
peers and supervisors, he was soon sent to Paris to oversee the building of a
refrigeration plant. Although a jump in statute to white collar, he still earn
blue collar wages; much too meagre of an existence, void of comforts.
But all that would change in the following year,
1881, Rudolph would finally see some payoff. He would see his salary double,
his first patent (production of table ice in glass containers) and a love
interest in the form of a mistress, Martha Flasche from the United States. She
was the Governess of a well to do German family, the Brandes. The Brandes
approved of Rudolph; his smarts, talents and growing salary were hard to
ignore.
With the patent secured, Rudolph began to search for
a manufacturer to build it. He then kindles a friendship with the Augsburg
Machine Works in the town where he had studied. Carl Buz, and Carl Augustus
Reichenbach, once managers, were now owners of the Machine Works. Soon they
were making parts for Diesel's refrigeration machine. In late 1883, the ice
machine worked and in November he and Martha were married. A whirlwind year
ensued. Income was coming in from the refrigeration machine, good thing too, he
and Martha give birth to their first child, Rudolph Jr.
In October 1885, Heddy, a baby girl is born, Martha
and Rudolph second child, amidst economic troubles. France sentiment against
the German and even Swiss made the ice machines a hard sell. As a result,
Rudolph's income suffered. Violent headaches forgotten since his childhood,
came back. On May 3, 1889, their third child is born, Eugen arrives into the
world.
Amidst strong anti German sentiment in 1889, Rudolph
is the only German engineer invited to give a his paper, "Revue Technique
de l'Exposition Universelle" at the International Engineering Congress.
Although he was warmly accepted as a Frenchman, he traded away his French
refrigeration franchise, for the sales rights in Germany and some money. The
new job was headquartered in Berlin, and Rudolph moved his family there in
1890. Martha loved it, but Rudolph had a hard time adjusting to the Prussian
military social atmosphere.
But a chance encounter with an school mate rekindles
his competitive spirit. He began to work his theories into an engine design, at
first, it is declined a patent. On appeal, his "not original" idea is
patented on February 28, 1892. He now had 15 years of protection and a need to
find a builder for it. Remembering his friends at Augsburg, Rudolph approached
Buz.
Buz, being the methodical, and accomplished
engineer, turned him down. The design was based on "The theory and
construction of a rational heat engine to replace steam engine and contemporary
combustion engine" a title that didn't exactly warm Buz's heart, or make
his factory's chief engineer - a staunch supporter of steam engines,
enthusiastic about the new idea. He rewrote the manuscript, and Buz accepted to
build a prototype. Patent were further sought in Germany, USA and England with
a more confine description of the operation.
Rudolph's ideas result in a steady pay check for his
work on the development of the new prime mover, and even better payoff if it
becomes all that it is supposed to be. He goes on a frenzy of contract signing
and names like Krupp and Sulzer lines up to sign deals to be part of the
action. When the test began in July, and finally the first run, Rudolph
realized it was not going to be easy, so much so, he moved the family into a
more modest apartment. The engine showed promised, but it needed far reaching
re-engineering.
Meanwhile, Cristoph Barnickel, in his fifties and
widowed three years earlier, was dating Emma, Rudolph's youngest sister. They
built a house after their marriage in September, and invite Rudolph to stay in
Augsburg while he worked on the new engine. The new engine, redesigned ran for
88 revolutions - one minute, on February 17, 1894. Shortly after,
Maschinefabrik Augsburg's stock rose by 30%. On January 17, 1895 Rudolph's
patent was almost up, and they hurried to have a prototype running in order to
maintain the patent. In between deal signing and brainstorming episodes they
succeeded. The engine ran; all 16.93kW with an efficiency of 16.6%, and he was
given the patent.
The first engine ready for testing was built on
December 31, 1896; a much different engine than the one they had started with.
In 1897, Rudolph was busy; finally some financial
success was coming to him. Companies were approaching him for the rights to
build his new efficient engine. At home, Martha and the kids were moved into a
new, luxurious apartment, complete with a staff. Rudolph also had a desire to
build a mansion, and he bought a lot in Munchen for that purpose. He was gifted
in many different fields, "including" personal finances, his gift was
that no matter how much came in, more went out. All was not doom and gloom, as
he took advantage of his windfall, taking up hobbies like photography, and
enjoying the theatre and opera.
Making new friends was also in the cards. Graf
Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Aldolphus Busch, a German immigrant who made it big
brewing beer in the United States. The Busch were very wealthy and had the
means to build Diesel's engine in the US. Upon advise from his adviser, Busch
himself went to Germany, he then proceeded to buy the rights by nonchalantly
writing a check for 1,000,000 marks. It was only the beginning. Newly formed
companies line up for the opportunity to build the new engine.
On his fortieth birthday, Rudolph was riding high. A
millionaire, on paper, five times over, a wife traveling the elite social
crowds, three beautiful, smart children; along with his personal health and
demeanour being radiant. This was thanks to his idea of a better world, and his
hard work to put it together. Indeed a wonderful time for him.
In order to manage the explosive growth of the
Diesel engine. Rudolph establishes a company to manage the licensing. It buys
all patent, and is tasked with the further developments and management of the
new engine. It is called the General Diesel Corporation, and is founded on
September 17, 1898. Rudolph is paid a sum of 3.5 million German marks. Shortly
after, he is diagnosed with nervous exhaustion and enters a private sanatorium
in Munchen.
After leaving the sanatorium, not feeling any
better, he was further agonized by the fantastic fortune beginning to roll in
and the problems associated with it. The violent headaches were becoming more
prevalent. The doctors decide that a "rest castle" in the Alps might
be better for him, then the sanatorium close to home in April of 1898. While
there, Rudolph invested heavily into an oil development in the Balkans, it went
sour. He had lost 300,000 marks, at a time when his "dream" mansion,
Maria - Theresia _ Strasse 32, was taking shape.
The mansion was magnificent. It had all the
"modern luxuries", as well as kids amenities. Plumbing and wired to
the highest standards, marble fireplaces in every room. Even the windows were
custom made. The decoration was luxurious. Painted, vaulted ceiling, French
furniture, Italian wardrobes etc. All, for a staggering sum of money. The
Diesel's financial situation was hinging precariously close to disaster.
But all was not doomed. Rudolph was invited witness
the first flight of the 128 meter Luftshiftf Zeppelin 1 airship. In 1900, the
grandest event ever. The Diesel engine takes the Grand Prix, the highest prize,
at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The exposition was attended by 50 million people.
In 1904 Rudolph attended a car race in Germany, he came back excited, with one
of his own, a machine, which could go so fast, a gas powered Mercedes. But he
overestimated his ability to drive it, mainly his vision and gouty right foot,
so he hired a driver.
Later in that year Rudolph decided to travel to the
United States. After spending some time in New York City, he traveled to St
Louis where he was a guest of Adolphus Busch who was having a tough time
selling the engine in the United State. He traveled far and wide, and took all
the sight in. Amazingly, the trip rejuvenated him, and as soon as he came back
to Germany, he designed and built a four cylinder "petite" version of
his engine. That engine later wins the Grand Prix in Paris in 1910, once again.
In 1907 his daughter Heddy marries Arnold von
Schmidt, an engineer. It's the social event of the year in Munchen. Amidst the
wedding joy, the headaches came back, with an astonishing loss of 3.5 millions
marks, it was no wonder. Additionally the patent ran out on the Diesel engine;
indeed a tumultuous year for the Diesels.
In 1911, Rudolph is invited to be co-guest of honor
with Sir Charles Parsons at the World Congress of Mechanical Engineers in
London. Sir Parsons was the inventor of the compound steam turbine. Continuing
in his travels, he and Martha go to the US once again to help Mr. Busch sell
the floundering diesel engine in America. But America the land of plenty, the
country has too many resources to really care about an efficient engine.
They return to the Germany and a lawsuit from a real
estate company, he is forced to pay 600,000 marks. The headaches grow in
severity. The latest financial woes brings up the total losses of the Diesel's
up to nearly ten million marks. In 1913, he published a book about the origins of
the Diesel engine. It makes a small dent into the his debt.
Along with war brewing in the Balkans and being a
pacifist, times are hard. He takes life a bit slower, taking time to enjoy
simpler things, like hiking. He sold the car to help pay some of his debts, and
his friends commented on a "less proud man" that Mr. Diesel had
become. His son, Rudolph, left school to become a clerk, much to the
disappointment of Rudolph the senior. He soon married and had a son. Eugen, the
Diesel's youngest son, had an intense desire to follow in his dad's footstep.
Like his father, he apprentices as a "bleu monteur" at Sulzer.
With a mortgage on the new mansion, and war breaking
out in the Balkans, the future seem quite bleak for Rudolph. He had been
invited to England to dine with Sir Parsons. Martha had left to visit her
mother in Remscheid. Before meeting up with Martha, he summoned his eldest son
for a short visit. Rudolph Jr. later states that their time together was
"bizarre", his father had taken him around the house and showed him
the keys for the rooms. Eugen had left for Sulzer in Switzerland.
Rudolph on his way to England spends two weeks in
Frankfurt with Heddy, Martha, and his grandchildren. Before leaving, he leaves
with Martha a leather case, with instruction that it be well looked after, and
not opened. On September 26, 1913, he boarded a slow train to Belgium, first
class. In Gent, he checked in to the Hotel de la Poste, where 31 years earlier
he had met Martha. He wrote her a loving, but confused letter; he misaddressed
it and the letter does not reach her until a lengthy detour. On the 28, he
writes his son, mentioning his headaches and insomnia troubles.
The next afternoon he boarded the steamer Dresden at
Antwerp, with the line's owner and it's chief engineer, George Carels and
Alfred Laukman, they had a pleasant dinner and Rudolph, he was said to be in
good spirits. When Rudolph did not meet Mr Carels and Mr Laukman for breakfast,
the ship was searched. Mr Diesel's cabin was empty, the bed had not been slept
in and the luggage had not been opened. His coat and hat was found neatly
folded under the stern railing. Capt H Hubert ordered the ship to search but to
no avail, he was reported missing. The inventor's notebook had a small cross
under the 29 of September, nothing else.
On October 10, a Belgian steamer Coertsen spotted a
body in the water, it was left at sea. The effects taken from the body were
later identified by Eugen Diesel in the Dutch port of Vlissingen as his
father's articles. When Martha opened the bag Rudolph had left for her, she
found twenty thousand marks, and financial statements showing all bank accounts
were empty. It was evident Rudolph had taken his life.
