Today in Automotive History: Rudolf Diesel dies mysterious Death

"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll) 09/29/2013 at 16:18 • Filed to: historylopnik

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It’s a cold and stormy day on October 10 th 1913 when the crew of the pilot vessel “Coertsen” pulls a body out of the water in the English channel. As was customary, they strip it of any personal effects that might help with identification and give it back to the water. They were identified as the belongings of Rudolf Diesel, father of the engine of the same name.

Having been born in Paris in 1858, his family had to flee to England in 1870 because of the war between France and Germany. Due to the poverty they were now living in, young Rudolf was sent to foster parents in Augsburg, Germany where he aced school, determined to become an engineer. At university in Munich he learns that steam engines only had about six to ten percent efficiency, and is appalled. He is now determined to invent an engine that is much more efficient.

In February 1892, his new type of engine gets patented, but there are still problems. The engine isn’t running smoothly. In need of partners, he sells the rights to his engine to the Augsburger Machinenfabrik (later MAN) and Krupp. As the leader of the development team he works hard, but it takes years until his engine runs smoothly. During these years, he ruined his health, and also made some very bad financial decisions.

Even when his engines are running smoothly and are being used and produced almost all over the world, his former wealth is dwindling. In August 1913 he is basically, bankrupt. In some last attempt to broker a new deal, he boards a ship to England on September 29th. He never made it to the other shore. His hat and coat were found close to the railing, the bed in his cabin was untouched. Fellow passengers say that he was in a good mood that evening.

Was it suicide, an accident, or even murder? All we know is that Rudolf Diesel died 100 years ago today.

Ghost Dog - For the kittens > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:20

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Awesome post. Thanks.

$kaycog > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:31

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What an interesting story!

For Sweden > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:34

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Clarkson with a spanner?

Klaus Schmoll > For Sweden 09/29/2013 at 16:44

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Nicolaus Otto with a giant, black, rubber...?

deadpedal > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:44

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Weird aside...

Having been at sea a few times, it always struck me how unlikely it was that you would be found should you slip over the rail.

Terrifying/humbling...

Leadbull > For Sweden 09/29/2013 at 16:44

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Clarkson only uses HAMMERS.

Klaus Schmoll > deadpedal 09/29/2013 at 16:45

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The proverbial needle in the haystack.

Carbyne > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:49

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I pour out a can of WD40 in remembrance of this great innovator.

Tom McParland > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 16:56

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Great post I love this geeky history stuff

EL_ULY > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 17:05

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Good read, thanks buddy

M54B30 > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 17:18

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It takes some serious genius to sit back and think: "let me refine some oil, inject it into a cylinder and compress it until it explodes and exhaust it out. And then I'll do it hundreds of times a minute!"

deadpedal > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 17:22

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X1000000000
Big haystack out in the great big blue.

davedave1111 > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 17:32

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"Was it suicide, an accident, or even murder?"

Murder - or rather assassination - is actually a lot more likely than one might at first think. Bear in mind that war was looming right ahead in Europe at the time, and the German Diesel was sailing to England when he died, in order to negotiate a deal which would have seen English industry acquire and develop his technology, and, tellingly, to consult with the Royal Navy about installing his engines in submarines. The German intelligence services had the motive to have him killed, and certainly are known to have carried out similar killings at the time.

That's pretty flaky, and there's no real evidence, but the evidence for suicide is even weaker. Diesel supposedly was 'broke', but left 200,000 Marks in a bag with his wife - real money, back then. In any case, he was going to England to finalise a deal that would have ended any financial worries he had, and seen production of his engines increase greatly - something of a triumphant time for him, you'd think. Then again, depression is by nature irrational.

Klaus Schmoll > davedave1111 09/29/2013 at 17:42

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Yeah, I know. I tried to keep it brief, so I didn't mention that he was talking about ending it prior to this incident.

As to keeping the Diesel engine in German hands, I think that horse had left the barn already, as a lot of companies from all over the globe had the patents already.

cesariojpn > Carbyne 09/29/2013 at 17:44

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*EPA knocks on door*

Carbyne > cesariojpn 09/29/2013 at 17:57

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Crud...
To Mexico!

davedave1111 > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 18:08

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Yeah, no doubt that the diesel engine itself was out of the bag - global patents filed, and so-on, as well as something like 70,000 sold by then. The deal Diesel was going to England for, though, would have made the British into the world leaders. On top of that, he was going to work for the Navy on submarines, so it was Diesel himself who was going to be an asset.

I investigated the available knowledge a few years ago when I first heard about Diesel's death, because I was intrigued. There wasn't much to be found, though. What's just occurred to me, though, is that there may be papers relating to his death that will be released shortly under the 100 Year Rule .

You never know, we may finally find out what happened.

Manuél Ferrari > $kaycog 09/29/2013 at 19:35

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Agree, this is intriguing stuff!

What an amazing engineer. Sad that his life ended as early as it did, regardless of what actually caused his death.

$kaycog > Manuél Ferrari 09/29/2013 at 19:40

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I agree. I wonder what else he might have invented had he lived.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 21:16

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What? Nobody has blamed Obama yet? I'm disappointed in you people.

The Old Man from Scene 24 > Klaus Schmoll 09/29/2013 at 22:45

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They put his body BACK into the water? I can understand this if you are in the middle of the ocean in the days before refrigeration, but in the English Channel you are probably never more than a few hours from a port.

CSI Crane would not approve.

Alex87f > Klaus Schmoll 09/30/2013 at 07:28

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I'm surprised nobody commented on the fact that his diesel engine ruined his health.

davedave1111 > M54B30 09/30/2013 at 07:34

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The oil was more of an evolution of Diesel's original idea. He originally designed his engine to run on pulverised coal - acts as a fluid, helpfully - before (years ahead of his time) trying peanut oil, before eventually settling on petroleum oil.

I love you but I've chosen hooning! > davedave1111 09/30/2013 at 08:35

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Mirroring the average Gawker commenter when it comes to drones and or the NSA I'd like to say:

"Of course we murdered him. Any country would have done justifiably so, as he was trying to help the enemy get an upper hand. Sorry but if you don't want to get assassinated, better not help the enemy."

I think that was pretty spot on. Apart from that, the world economy was pretty globalized back then. In fact after WWI it took until the mid 70s to reach that level of globalization, German industrial companies were selling goods to other European countries and vice versa. So I'm not sure if there really was a huge interest in killing him, from what I've read his genius wasn't acknowledged the way it is now.

the7thearlofgrey > Klaus Schmoll 09/30/2013 at 09:40

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no mystery breathe deep

cam427r > davedave1111 09/30/2013 at 10:13

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I'm not sure assassination, by a state, would be all too plausible. In late 1913 there weren't quite the strong indicators that WWI was about to break out. Sure, there were national tensions between the Entente powers and the Triple Alliance, but England and Germany were experiencing a kind of détente leading up the assassinations in July 1914 that led to the war. I doubt that the Germans were particularly upset if Diesel was brokering a deal with the English. But, you never know, as Kaiser Wilhelm was smitten with his own navy, so any deal to strengthen the Royal Navy might have irked him.

cam427r > Klaus Schmoll 09/30/2013 at 10:15

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Wouldn't saying war breaking out between France and Prussia be more accurate? Germany didn't unify until after the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War. Apologies for the history nerding in an automotive article.

Klaus Schmoll > cam427r 09/30/2013 at 10:37

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Well, if we start with the history nerding, it would be correct to say that this war was fought between France and the Norddeutscher Bund not Prussia alone.

davedave1111 > cam427r 09/30/2013 at 10:51

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Assassination in general is extremely plausible, because it was a relatively commonplace tactic at the time, particularly of the Kaiser's secret police - to the extent that the public assumption in the time was that it was almost certainly an assassination. Of course, that assumption was not based on any hard evidence, and was likely fuelled by the jingoism so prevalent back then.

On top of that, as you say, Germany and Britain were engaged in a naval arms race, and Diesel got himself in the middle of that.

As far as preparations for war go, there's no doubt that by October 1913 almost everyone knew Europe was heading for war. It's not like the position was in 1938; both sides were moving towards a war that was generally felt to be necessary and unavoidable.

Despite that, there's nothing more than circumstantial evidence when it comes to the death of Diesel. I certainly wouldn't say one can have any definite view. All I was saying was that the assassination theory is actually a lot less implausible than it seems to us, so can't be dismissed.

cam427r > Klaus Schmoll 09/30/2013 at 13:20

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Indeed.

cam427r > Klaus Schmoll 09/30/2013 at 13:20

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Indeed.

cam427r > davedave1111 09/30/2013 at 13:25

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I apologize if it came across as if I was disagreeing, I certainly was not. I'm just unsure of whether I'd believe assassination over suicide. There is so little hard evidence either direction it's just a matter of our own opinions.

davedave1111 > cam427r 09/30/2013 at 13:34

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I didn't think you were disagreeing, so much as discussing. I don't think anyone rational could examine all the evidence and conclude anything was certain. As I say, I thought it was worthy of mention that assassinations were much more common back then than today, or at least perceived to be, so it's at least a not implausible theory.

There's so little evidence, though, that you can't rule out highly implausible theories like Diesel faking his own death, going into hiding, secretly developing diesel stealth-planes, and kidnapping Glen Miller.

davedave1111 > cam427r 09/30/2013 at 13:34

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I didn't think you were disagreeing, so much as discussing. I don't think anyone rational could examine all the evidence and conclude anything was certain. As I say, I thought it was worthy of mention that assassinations were much more common back then than today, or at least perceived to be, so it's at least a not implausible theory.

There's so little evidence, though, that you can't rule out highly implausible theories like Diesel faking his own death, going into hiding, secretly developing diesel stealth-planes, and kidnapping Glen Miller.