Quick Facts
- Born:
- April 9, 1815, Digne, Fr.
- Died:
- March 27, 1893, Vincennes (aged 77)
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Alphonse Beau de Rochas
French engineer
Alphonse Beau de Rochas (born April 9, 1815, Digne, Fr.âdied March 27, 1893, Vincennes) was a French engineer who originated the principle of the four-stroke internal-combustion engine. His achievement lay partly in his emphasizing the previously unappreciated importance of compressing the fuelâair mixture before ignition.
Beau de Rochas patented his idea in 1862 but did not build such an engine, leaving the development to others. As a result of the work of Nikolaus A. Otto of Germany and Ătienne Lenoir of France, four-stroke engines almost completely displaced all other types of internal combustion engines and came into universal use.
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