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François Isaac de Rivaz
François Isaac de Rivaz (Paris, December 19 1752 – Sion, Switzerland, July 30 1828) was a Swiss inventor, credited with inventing and constructing the first successful internal combustion engine in 1806. The engine was powered by a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. A year later, Isaac de Rivaz built one of the first automobiles for his new engine to power. <ref>About.com: Inventors: The History of the Automobile - The Internal Combustion Engine and Early Gas-Powered Cars</ref><ref name="US7137366">Template:Cite patent Page 10: : In the early nineteenth century, Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine.</ref> He also experimented with steam-powered vehicles in the late 18th century.<ref name="h2cars">1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz - internal combustion engine</ref> Although the engine was first built by Isaac de Rivaz, it was never commercially successful.
Although this early work is credited as the first successful internal combustion engine, the development for mass production never on the invention never truly began until the mid-nineteenth century. Gasoline was not used for internal combustion engines until 1870.
See also
- Timeline of transportation technology
- Timeline of hydrogen vehicles
- History of the internal combustion engine
