Evening Star Newspaper, October 31, 1937, Page 91

World’s First Gasoline Auto Driven in Vienna in 1864 Siegfried Marcus, Noted. Inventor of the Day, It Is Revealed, Built Three of Them. | BY THOMAS R. HENRY. The first gasoline automobile in the history of the world was driven in Vienna in the summer of 1864. It was a peasant's hand wagon equipped with a motor using benzine for fuel—at $3 a gallon. This motor was installed in a high wooden tower over the front ‘wheels. It was of the free-piston, two-cycle type, and it had & magneto-electric ignition system. The inventor was a 33-year-old German mechanic and pioneer elec- trician, who was accumulating a large fortune by installing electric bell and gas lighting systems in the homes of wealthy Viennese. His name was Siegfried Marcus. He gained fame later as one of the foremost Eurdpean inventors of the day—but not as the inventor of the automobile. Fifteen years were to pass before George B. Selden filed application for his celebrated patent in the United States. It was 21 years before Carl Benz in Germany produced the light, three-wheeled vehicle driven by gaso- line which is generally as the first practical automobile. Not until 30 years later did Charles E. Duryea and Ellwood Haynes build the first practical automobiles in America. It seems to be established beyond question that Marcus was the in- ventor both of the automobile and of the gasoline engine. Yet even in his own land his invention was lost sight of completely, and in the United States, where the automobile industry has reached its greatest development, his name is mertioned, apparently for the first time, in connection with gasoline cars, in the 1934 report of the National Museum which has just been issued. One Sold in United States. It is an amazing story—but its most amazing chapter is still to come. This 1864 “Marcus-wagon”—as it was called somewhat derisively by his friends—was & crude affair, fit only to be a plaything of the adventurous. But even then Marcus was spending his spare hours on another vehicle which made its first appearance on the streets of Vienna in 1875. He was still years ahead of any other claimant anywhere in the world to the honor of having invented the automobile. This second ‘“Marcus-wagan” was a remarkable machine, indeed. It com- bined features for some of which the world was to wait for another two generations. On this machine the in- ventor filed application for a patent. He built three of them. The first he used himself to take his friends for rides around Vienna. The second, together with the patent rights, was sold to a manufacturing firm in Hol- land, which made no use of its pur- chase. The third was sold in the United States. The first, after an eventful history, has recently been installed as the prize exhibit in the Technical Museum in Vienna. All records of the two others, so far as can be ascertained, have completely disappeared. There is no record of the name of the American purchaser. Newspapers between 1875 and 1880, so far as can be ascertained, contain no mention of it. Lost: A Precious Relic. Did it inspire some American in- ventor? Is it still extant, or has it long since disappeared in the junkpile? These questions, at least for the time being, must remain unanswered. Any- body who can find this old automobile will have his hands on one of the most precious of historical relics. All this is on the authority of the Technical Museum in Vienna. It has just issued a brochure on Marcus in connection with the exhibit of the 1875 automobile. This strongly hints that the machine sent to America had an important, although unwritten, in- fiuence on the automobile industry. For this second car was no play- thing. The one now on exhibit is described as “astonishingly modern, both as a wiole and in its details. Water carried in a special container serves for cooling the motor. For speed regulation a small handwheel, which controls the throttle opening, is controlled from the driver's seat. A lever, operated from the driver's seat, is used to start the motor by means of a rachet arrangement. A friction clutch, also operated from the driver's seat, serves to connect the crankshaft to a belt-driven wheel from which the propeller shaft and rear wheels are set in motion by means of a number of belts. ‘Wheel Mountings Different. “Accordingly, the second Marcus ear has a drive similar to the one in general use 20 years later, just before the turn of the century. However, Marcus had not anticipated the va- riable gear ratio. The front wheels also were not yet independently mounted on kingbolts as in the mod- ern automobile, but were mounted in the manner taken over from the horse-drawn carriage—i. e, on a straight axle. The drive wheels, at the rear, however, are not rigidly con- nected together but are connected through a friction coupling with spiral springs on the ends of the axle shaft, by which a sort of differential is at- tained. Finally, this car has also the worm-gear steering equipment which has been used so extensively in later machines.” In addition, Marcus was using a four-cycle gasoline motor, in which the gas is compressed before explod- ing. It was not until 1876—a year after the recorded appearance of the second Marcus wagon that this prin- eiple, which is the basis of all gaso- line motors today, was patented in Germany by N. A. Otto. From his 1864 machine Marcus con- tinued the magneto-electric, make- and-break ignition system, to the in- vention of which he himself attached the greatest importance. There is evidence, cited in the Technical Mu- seum monograph, that he never con- sidered the automobile itself of much recognized | operated his motor with benzine, practically indistinguishable from gasoline, but having a slightly higher percentage of the lighter hydrocar- bons. It was a petroleum product and probably was very close to the ordinary gasoline of the present. It was distinguished from kerosene by being much more volatile. Marcus received his entire supply, liter by liter, from a druggist in Mu- nich. It cost him five marks a liter. fortunately, he was a wealthy man and could afford to keep a good sup- ply of it. But he must have consid- ered his experiments as academic, rather than practical. About the year 1860, according to the records of his life as obtained by the officials of the Technical Mu- seum, he was interested primarily in gas lighting. He was dissatisfied with the illuminating gas obtained from coal and undertook extensive experi- ments with petroleum and petroleum derivatives, so far as they were known at the time, in an effort to secure ® better product. It was in THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., OCTOBER 31; 1937—PART SIX. this way that he first became inter- ested in benzine or gasoline. It didn't work out as a source of illuminating gas, but the inventor was impressed wi!h its high explosive powers. Illuminating Gas Engine. Now in 1859 the French inventor, J. J. E. Lenoir, had placed on the market an illuminating gas engine of the free piston, two-cycle type. The gas was ignited by an electric spark. ‘Marcus probably was familiar with Lenoir's work. The idea of using the highly volatile and more easily han- dled benzine in a similar engine was one which would naturally suggest itself to him. It also so happened that Marcus was a ploneer electrical engineer. With | his gas-light installations he combined | electric bell systems. He was forever tinkering with electrical contrivances. It was natural enough to incorporate in the set-up and the make-and-break ignition contrivance with which he had been experimenting for some time. | Nor was the idea of using the en- gine to propel a wagon strikingly original. Road coaches propelled by steam engines had made spasmodic | appearances over Europe for half a| Only the woeful state of century. the roads made them impractical. Nevertheless, the combination of gasoline, engine and wagon—of which Marcus was the originator—seems un- questionably to -have been the first automobile, The improvements added later stand on their own merits, This first “Marcus-wagon” pletely disappeared. The best historians of the Technical Museum |of those who saw it. it | sture been able to do is to d ha com- |~ the | and describe it from the descriptions Mareus took a agon such .as was used | He brought out the cont Heads New Branch C. P. TURNER. Announcement of the open- ing of a direct factory branch of the Nash Division of Nash- Kelvinator Corp., to operate under the name of Nash Mo- tors of Washington, was made today by C. P. Turner, branch manager. by Austrian peasants of the day to draw their produce to the Vienna market. Upon the front of this he erected a wooden framework about 5 feet high. At the bottom of this tower, resting upon the floor of the wagon, was the gas tank. Resting upon tke 2oor, just beidnd the tower, was a wet battery used to produce the spark. Account of Ride Exists. Just above the gas tank was mounted the single cylinder. This would be driven’ upward by an explosion and would reverse the motion in the vacuum produced by the cooling of the gas. Here again the principle was not altogether new. Something of the same kind, operated by steam, had been produced by the Anglo- French inventor, Dannis Papin, 200 years earlier. duced by the cylinder was transferred to the front wheels by means of a belt extending the length of the tower. There is extant one account of a ride in this first Marcus-wagon. It is in the memoirs of Albert R. Curjel, noted sportsman and cyclist who aft- erwards gained fame by introducing the British high-wheeled bicycle into Austria. He also probably should be credited with having been the first automobile passenger and back-seat driver. He was a friend of Marcus and also, it is quite likely, one of the few men in Vienna reckless enough to risk a ride in the fantastic contrivance. “In the year 1865,” he wrote, “Mar- cus invited me one day to take a ride in his first automobile. I accepted this invitation with the greatest delight. nce in The rotary motion pro- | front of his house, where his workshop also was located. “In order to try out the vehicle it was necessary to find the most de- serted and least conspicuous place pos- sible. The best place was the ground of the smelting works, now occupied by the Vienna parade grounds. 8o there, as evening approached, we went. Ahead of us went a servant, dragging behind. Arrived there, the rear was lifted up and we began the work of gelting the contrivance started, which was by no means a simple operafion. But presently the motor began to chug, and Marcus invited me to take my place on the hand wagon. He himself attended to the steering. “The Motor Baulked.” b “He quickly got it under way and we went for a good 200 meters. Then, however, the motor baulked and the experiment luckily was at an end. Then the servant was again called into action and he drew the wagon back again to the garge.” Marcus went boldly on the streets of Vienna with the 1875 automobile. It was noisy, but he regarded it as en- tirely safe, With the throttle on the steering wheel, he had his speed al- ways under control. His rear wheel brakes, operated from the driver’s seat, enabled him to stop within a few feet. The steering mechanism worked per- fectly. He installed a seat for a pas- senger and it is recorded that he took many of his friends for rides. The machine, however, was very noisy. It frightened horses and caused some bad run-aways. There were nu- merous complaints to the police and TRANSMISSI() 7HE FEATURE SENSATION OF THE SHOK OLDSMOBILE’S Automatic Safety Transmission is the driving sensation of the year. More than a device for changing gears, it opens to motorists a whole new world of flashing, flow= ing performance, It introduces quicker, snappier acceleration , . » new smoothness and quietness at cruising speeds. See the Automatic Safety Transmission at the Show . .. then arrange for a trial drive, You will get the thrill of your motoring life! Optional at extra cost on all 1938 models, e Marcus was ordered to take his horse- less carriage off the streets. This dis- couraged him from making any fur- ther improvements. His energies were taken up by that time in the problem of making a practical electric light and in means for exploding mines by an electric spark. He took his auto- mobile back to his shop and forgot about it. There it gathered dust for the automobile, Marcus «nd I walked | 50 years, until its existence was dis- covered by the Austrian Automobile Club and raoved to that organization’s headquarters. From thence it has just been removed to the Technical Mu- seum. SIMPLE TROUBLE Fuel Line Caused an Ill, but Not the Usual Kind. One of the most convincing ex- amples of the simplicity of most car trouble was & recent case where a bad noise in the rear of a large car had several good mechanics puzzled. They had inspected and lubricated everything from the springs to the shock absorbers, with plenty of detours into the equalizer bar, the brake con- trols, tail pipe hangers and other ex- tras. Finally one of the men stuck his screwdriver between two rubbing contacts and asked his associates to try and get the noise again. Not a sound from the car. What he had done ‘was to move the fuel line away from the brake shaft. The two had been rubbing together. G—9 PROPER-CARE IS URGED FOR AUTO HEADLIGHTS Age of Bulb May Cut Effective- ness by 50 Per Cent, Ex- perts Point Out. Defective lights are responsible for night driving hazards, and proper cars given to headlamps, will go far toward eliminating that danger, it is pointed out by the service division of the Key= stone Automobile Club. Keystone ex- perts say that so trifling a factor as the age of a lamp bulb may reduce the effective light by 50 per cent and more. If lenses and reflectors are dirty, further light reduction may result. Dirt on lenses, for example, the Key- stone authorities show, may reduce the light intensity 10 to 15 per cent, not to mention the glare that will be caused by scattering of the beam. «TOP SERVICE FACILITIES Are afforded you by Washington’s Largest Chrysler Service Station. SKINKER MOTOR CO. SERVICE & USED CAR DEPT. 1216-28 20th at M N.W. District 4310 OLDSMOBILES NEW AUTOMATIC SAFETY ITS MORE THAN JUST A GFAR-SHIFTER! (at right) Oldsmobile’s new Auto- matic Safety Transmission gives you a Super-Drive for smooth, unlabored cruising and a special “Pick-Up” Gear for a quick burst of power and speed when needed. Accelerator pressure controls the changes from one to the other, (above) The conventional gear shift lever is entirely eliminated in Oldsmobile's automatic transmission. Driving is re- duced to its simplest, easiest, safest form. You drive with both hands on the wheel. ——— Knee-Action Wheels « Super- (at leff) With Oldsmobile’s new Automatic Safety Transmission, you are master of every traffic situation. You flashahead froma standing start with pick-up that puts you out in front, and you have a world of flexi- bility always at your command. (at right) Oldsmobile’s Super-Drive reduces engine revolutions at cruis- ing speeds...saves wear on the en- gine . .. increases gasoline mileage from 18% to 20%. Thus, the Auto- matic Safety Transmission intro- duces remarkable new economies. L] Payments to suit your purse— General Motors Instalment Plan. NOWHERE ELSE AN MONEY BUY SO MUCH! BODY FEATURES Safety Dash with Safety Instrument Unit « Safety Interiors « Unisteel Body Construction » Turret Top Steel Body Frame « No Draft Venti- lation « Safety Glass « Unobstructed Floors « Scientific Sound Proofing CHASSIS FEATURES Hydraulic Brakes « Center-Control Steering « Dual Ride Stabilizers Big, Low-Pressura Tires « Stabilized Front End « Streamlined Head- lamps « Stabilized Propeller Shaft ENGINE FEATURES 95-Horsepower Six « 110-Horse= power Eight « Under-Hood Battery Electro-Hardened Aluminum Pistons Tri-Cushion Engine Suspension 100 Per Cent Full Pressure Lubrication « Automatic Choke significance. How came two such inventions as the gasoline engine itself and the gasoline automobile to be completely forgotten? There is still a good deal of mystery about it, although the technical museum monograph goes far toward a plausible explanation. First, it mustebe stressed, the time ‘was not ripe, Marcus was primarily interested in what seemed more im- portant developments, and he never pressed these two inventions. He was making plenty of money in other ‘ways. . bt i aian: DRIVE AN OLDSMOBILE! COMMUNITY MOTORS, INC. 6621 Wisconsin Ave. N.W, MANN MOTORS, INC. L. P. STEUART, INC 8129 Georgia Ave. CAPITOL CADILLAC N.E. Branch 620 H St. N.E. 1222 22nd St. N.W. L. P. STEUART, INC POHANKA SERVICE He wog(:;ol:‘i:h:::k:::;;ragemem 1401 14th St. N.W. - 1126 20th St. N.W. and alone—so far as the automobile v 3 was concerned. It would have re- OLMSTEAD MOTOR CO. INC. quired a far-sighted man indeed to Wilson Blvd. and Uhle St., Clarendon, Va. LUSTINE-NICHOLSON MOTOR CO. SERVICE GARAGE Hyattsville, Md. Fairfax, Va. HERNDON SALES AND SERVICE Herndon, Ve. ALEXANDRIA MOTOR CO. 115 N. Washington St., Alex., Va. have envisioned any future for the - invention—with gasoline almost a chemical rarity. Gasoline, in fact, Marcus was unknown at the. time,