Nicolaus August Otto was born on 10 June 1832 in Holzhausen an der Haide, Germany. He was the youngest of six … See more

In late autumn of 1860 Otto and his brother learned of a novel gas (illuminating gas) engine that Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir had built in Paris. The brothers built a copy of the Lenoir engine and applied for a patent in January … See more

Otto was aware of the concept of compressed fuel charge and tried to make an engine using this principle in 1861. It ran for just a few minutes before breaking. Otto's brother gave up on the concept, resulting in … See more

Early in 1864, Otto sought investors to fund his research. He found Eugen Langen, whose father was a sugar industrialist. Together they entered into a partnership on 31 March 1864 and named it NA Otto & Cie in Cologne… See more

The Otto engine was designed as a stationary engine and in the action of the engine, the stroke is an upward or downward movement of a piston in a cylinder. Used later in an adapted form as an … See more

Otto had obtained many patents from several different nations and for several different features. When his former manager Gottlieb Daimler wanted to build small engines for transportation Otto showed no … See more