Source: National Archives & Historic Records of United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Belgium)
Technology • Historical Archive • 🇧🇪 Belgium • 0 views

Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir 🇧🇪

Jean-Joseph Étienne Lenoir (Known as "Etienne Lenoir")
Engineer, Inventor of the First Commercially Successful Internal Combustion Engine
Born Jan 12, 1822 🇧🇪 Mussy-la-Ville (Luxembourg Province), Belgium
Passed Away Aug 04, 1900 La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire (Val-de-Marne), France
Lifespan 78 years old
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Notice / Correction
"The expansion of gas within a cylinder can move wheels faster and further than all the horses of the earth."

Archival Overview

Belgian-born inventor who built the world's first commercially successful internal combustion engine in 1859 and the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine in 1860.

Biographical Record

Born in Belgian Luxembourg, Lenoir moved to Paris in 1838, working in electroplating and telegraphy. In 1859, he constructed a single-cylinder, two-stroke gas engine fueled by illuminating coal gas with an electric spark ignition.

In 1860, Lenoir mounted his engine onto a three-wheeled carriage (the 'Hippomobile'), driving it from Paris to Joinville-le-Pont in three hours, achieving the world's first motorized road trip. He also developed motorboats and telegraphic systems, being decorated with the French Legion of Honour.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Paris, France
GPS: 48.8617, 2.3944
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