Talk:Alphonse Beau de Rochas

Patents
When Dr Otto was awarded his patent for internal combustion, it took three long ponderous actions in the court rooms of Europe before the rather rambling notes of Beau de Rochas were discovered in a library vault and used to invalidate Dr Ottos patents.

Most engineering history books seem to describe Beau de Rochas as an Austrian artilleryman rather than an engineer.

As nobody ever seems to have asked the otherwises obscure Beau de Rochas where he originally got the idea for the four stroke cycle from the mystery must remain as Dr Otto arrived at the same conclusion only after a long series of carefully documented experiments.

The latest information about this aspect of engineering history seems to be "Internal Fire" by Lyle Cummins.AT Kunene (talk) 11:42, 16 January 2011 (UTC)