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First Horseless Passenger Transport
http://www.forest-classics.co.uk/trevithick_puffing_devil.htmRichard Trevithick builds first horseless passenger transport, named the "Puffing Devil". -
Uphill Struggle
English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn a mixture of oxygen hydrogen gas. He used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill - the highest point in south London. -
Coal-Gas Power
Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir develops and patents a coal-gas powered engine. -
First Speed Limit
Locamotive Act sets speed limit to 2 mph in city and 4 mph in country. -
First Four-Stroke Engine
Nikolaus August Otto develops first successful four-stroke engine, known as "Otto Cycle". -
First Two-Stroke Engine
Sir Dugald Clerk builds the first successful two-stroke engine. -
Internal Combustion
Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz independently develop internal combustion engines, the same type used today. -
First Motor Company
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor set up first motor company as first car manufacturers. -
First Four-Stroke, Four-Cylinder Engine
Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine, then later developed the spray-nozzle carburettor. -
Gran Prix Racing
Races quickly evolved from a simple chases from town to town, to organised events like time trials endurance tests for car and driver.
Innovations in engineering soon saw competition speeds exceeding 100 mph. -
First Road Traffic Death
Bridget Driscoll was hit by a passing motor car near Crystal Palace in London. She died from head injuries. The driver, Arthur Edsell, was doing just 4mph at the time. The coroner, returning a verdict of accidental death, said “I trust that this sort of nonsense will never happen again.”
