First
Car
Arguably Father Ferdinand Verbiest, a Catholic priest invented
the first car as it was powered by steam and only 15-inches long
in 1687 for the Chinese Emperor Chien Lung. There is another group
of people, however that say that French engineer and army officer
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invented the first car in 1769.
The car that Cugnot made, the "Steamer" like the name
implies was a steam-powered artillery tractor. William Murdoch built
a steam-powered carriage in 1784. So, in fact, the first car invented
or made in all of history was also the first steam car.
Oliver Evans was granted the first American automobile patent in
1789. In 1805 Evans demonstrated the first American car (arguably)
which was also an amphibious vehicle. On land it traveled by wheels
and in water it used a paddle wheel.
Richard Trevithick, in 1801 was running a full size steam powered
car in England. In 1807 Swiss inventor Francois Isaac de Rivaz created
the first hydrogen car. It had an internal combustion engine and
it ran on hydrogen gas and oxygen. Prague Polytechnich professor
Josef Bozek built an oil-fired steam car in 1815. British countryman
Samuel Brown in 1826 invented a car with an internal combustion
engine fueled by hydrogen and ran it up a hill in England.
In 1838, Walter Hancock built a four-seat steam phaeton steam-powered
carriage. In the same year in Scotland, Robert Davidson built an
electric train. Around the same time another Scotsman Robert Anderson
is credited with building the first electric car. Others would have
you believe that American Thomas Davenport built the first electric
car in 1834 or 1835.
Etienne Lenoir of France in 1860 invented the Hippomobile, which
was powered by hydrogen. The hydrogen was created by electrolyzing
water into hydrogen and oxygen. Siegfried Marcus, an Austrian
inventor is credited with inventing the first gasoline car in
1870. Etienne Lenoir who invented the Hippomobile claimed to have
invented the first gasoline-powered car as well. Other people
credit Karl Benz of Germany with creating the first practical
gasoline-powered car.
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The first diesel engine was invented in 1893 by Rudolf
Diesel, way before the first diesel car was invented.
Some say the first production diesel car the Citroën
Rosalie, introduced in 1933, was also the first biodiesel
car since it could run on vegetable oil as well as petroleum.
Rudolf Diesel first demonstrated his engine running on
peanut oil.
General Motors inventor William G. Cobb created the first
solar car in 1955. The Sunmobile was only 15 inches and
had 12 selenium photovoltaic cells on top of the vehicle.
The first solar car that someone could actually ride in was built
by the International Rectifier Company in 1958.
This solar car was a 1912 Baker electric car with solar
cells on the rooftop.
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This is a brief history of the first car invented in several different
categories. These cars made history at the time and are still relevant
now to enthusiasts, car buffs and automotive historians. Check out
specific first cars listed on the left navigation panel.
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