 |
| Rudolf Diesel |
Rudolf Diesel was the
brilliant German inventor of the diesel engine. His invention was meant to be a
cleaner, safer way to power ships, cars and much more. He was something of a
visionary when it came to greener fuel, long before anyone had even conceived
of “going green.” Unfortunately, his invention led the already depressed man to
become more troubled. He was under pressure trying to fund his invention and
sell it. Rudolf Diesel, who was once a rich man, found himself in debt from funding
the development of his engine. The pressure he was under and the depression
that he displayed for most of his life may have driven him to commit suicide.
Or did it?
Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel
published a description of his invention in 1893 titled “The Theory and
Construction of a Rational Heat Engine.” That very same year he built the first
diesel engine and acquired a patent for it. He ran into some problems and had
to work with it a lot to get it functioning properly, but he was diligent. He eventually
had his engine running on peanut oil and later, vegetable oil. Wide use of
Rudolf Diesel’s engine would have made petroleum-based fuel obsolete.
The idea to run the engine on
hempseed oil came about as well. The idea was destroyed by marijuana prohibition
after Rudolf Diesel’s death. Not that it would have mattered much. The change
to “greener fuel” has yet to take place, more than one hundred years after
Rudolf Diesel made that change possible.
The diesel engine eventually
became a much sought after commodity. It would eventually replace the more
cumbersome and dangerous fuels, such as coal, that were being used on ships and
such, at the time. It would make these ships faster, cleaner and more
efficient. If one country had a monopoly on these engines, it would have given
them a strong military advantage.
On September 29, 1913, Rudolf
Diesel was aboard the USS Dresden. The mail steamer was on an overnight voyage
across the English Channel from Antwerp to Harwich. Rudolf was on his way to
attend the opening of a diesel engine factory. He was in debt and reportedly
very depressed, but he was by no means without expectations. He was seen eating
dinner aboard the USS Dresden that night. Following dinner, he retired to his
cabin. This was around 10:00 p.m. If he was ever seen alive again, the person
or people who did the seeing never came forward.
On the morning of September 30,
1913, Rudolf Diesel’s cabin was found empty. The only evidence left of
the man was a coat and hat that were discovered on deck. There were no signs of
foul play and nobody witnessed any suspicious activity aboard the mail steamer.
On October 9 a man’s body was found floating in the North Sea. The fishermen
who had discovered the body took note of the dead man’s clothing, retrieved the
man’s belongings and then threw the body back into the water. The man’s
belongings were later identified by Rudolf Diesel’s son.
There is no doubt that Rudolf
Diesel’s death has been sensationalized in the nearly one hundred years that
have passed since it occurred. It has been officially ruled a suicide and there
are many indications that this was so. However, there are a few conspiracy
theories, regardless. It is thought that he may have been killed by the German
government so that he wouldn’t share his ideas with other countries, thus
giving them the advantage of more efficient vehicles. It is also thought that
he may have been killed by a hitman hired by the leaders of the petroleum
industry. However, this is unlikely. Back then, the petroleum industry was not
the powerhouse that it is today. Another theory is that he was killed and his
ideas for his invention stolen.
It is unlikely that Rudolf
Diesel’s death was anything more than the suicide of a desperately unhappy man.
Nonetheless, there will likely always be conspiracy theories surrounding his
death. No one was there when the man went overboard, so we can’t know for
certain what exactly occurred. Moreover, there was never a body to inspect, and the circumstances surrounding the discovery of his belongings are suspicious.
Sources
Rudolf Diesel: His Invention and
Mysterious Death, retrieved 1/28/10, germanculture.com.ua/library/weekly/rudolf_diesel.htm
Rudolf Diesel: 1858-1913,
retrieved 1/28/10, hempcar.org/diesel.shtml
No comments:
Post a Comment