Felice Matteucci

Felice Matteucci ( born February 12, 1808 in Lucca, † September 13, 1887 in Capannori ) was an Italian hydraulic engineer and together with Eugenio Barsanti inventor of an internal combustion engine. It is not known whether they were the first, because the patent in question has been lost.

Life and work

Born in Lucca, Matteucci studied hydraulic and mechanical engineering, first in Paris and later in Florence. In 1851 he met Father Barsanti and grabbed his ideas for a new type of machine. They worked a lifetime on it together to develop a concept first one produced subject.

After the death of Barsanti 1864, and as a result of the lack of recognition for their machine he returned to his former job back as a hydraulic engineer. He built new hydrometer ( to the water level in a river to measure ), rain gauge, and made hydraulic works on rivers.

Matteucci 1877 claimed that he and his partner Barsanti were the first inventors of the internal combustion engine. The patent of Nikolaus August Otto was very similar to the design of Barsanti - Matteucci. The frustration contributed to the illness which finally led to Capannori Matteuccis death in his own house near Lucca in Tuscany.