Rudolf Diesel

Receives a patent for "a new rational heat engine" that compresses air to the point of igniting fuel without a spark. He publishes a paper describing the concept. Existing engine makers call it impossible.

Demonstrates the first working diesel engine at the Augsburg factory. It produces 25 horsepower and runs on peanut oil. He envisions farmers growing their own fuel. Within a decade, the engine transforms shipping, rail, and industry.

Displays a diesel engine running on peanut oil at the Paris World's Fair. He argues publicly that plant-based fuels are the future. "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today," he writes. "But such oils may become, in course of time, as important as petroleum."

Vanishes from the steamship Dresden while crossing the English Channel from Antwerp to Harwich. His bed hasn't been slept in. His nightshirt is laid out. A body recovered ten days later is identified by personal effects. He's 55. Suicide, murder, or accident. Nobody knows.