# Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel 150 Birthday



## surfaceblow (Jan 16, 2008)

http://www.dieselgasturbine.com/pdf/rudolf.pdf

March 18 will be Rudolf's 150 birthday. The above link has a nice article by Lyle ***mins, the son of Clessie ***mins (of the engine manufacturer of the same name). 
Some interesting facts not in the article is the first successful engine was built in the United States in 1897 and was paid for by beer money Adolphus Busch bought the US license for 1 million marks.(Pint) In the evening of 29 September 1913, Diesel took a ship (SS Dresden of the Great Eastern Railroad) to cross the English Channel from Antwerp, Belgium, to Harwich, England. Mr Diesel was to attend the Carels factory opening in Ipswich. (Carels was a Belgian Diesel licensee.) He took dinner on board the ship and then retired to his cabin at about 10 p.m., leaving word for him to be called the next morning at 6:15 a.m. He could not be found the next morning. A petty officier is said to have found Rudolf's hat and coat neatly folded by the stern rail. 

October 18, 1913, he was found dead in the water off the Dutch coast (Scheldt River); after the recovery of his body the coast guard removed his belongings, and the body was thrown back into water.


----------

