[SEL] happy birthday

[derek]

 Nikolaus August Otto   Born 10 June 1832; died 26 Jan 1891.
German engineer who developed the four-stroke internal-combustion engine, 
which offered the first practical alternative to the steam engine as a power 
source. A French engineer, Alphonse Beau de Rochas, formulated the basic 
design for the four-stroke internal combustion engine and patented it in 
1862, but never built a working model. In 1876, Otto used principles from 
Beau de Rochas and others to construct the prototype of today's automobile 
engines, often called the Otto-cycle engine. He sold thousands of copies 
before Beau de Rochas sued him and invalidated Otto's patent. But light, 
efficient Otto-cycle engines largely enabled the creation of automobiles, 
powerboats, motorcycles and even airplanes.