Langen, Eugen

SUBJECT AREA: Automotive engineering, Steam and internal combustion engines

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b. 1839 Germany

d. 1895 Germany

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German engineer and businessmen.

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A sound engineering training combined with an inherited business sense were credentials that Langen put to good use in his association with internal-combustion engines. The sight of a working engine built by N.A. Otto in 1864 convinced Langen that this was a means to provide power in industry. Shortly afterwards, assisted by members of his family, he formed the company N.A.Otto and Cie, Cologne, the world's first engine factory. At the Paris Exhibition of 1867, the new Otto-Langen Atmospheric Gas Engine was awarded a Gold Medal, and in 1870 Crossley Bros of Manchester was appointed sole agent and manufacturer in Britain. Under Langen's guidance, the firm grew, and in 1872 it was renamed Die Gasmotoren Fabrik, employing Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Apart from running the business, Langen often played peacemaker when differences arose between Daimler and Otto. The success of the firm, known today as Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz, owed much to Langen's business and technical skills. Langen was a strong supporter of Otto's constant efforts to produce a better engine, and his confidence was justified by the appearance, in 1876, of Otto's four-stroke engine. The two men remained close friends until Otto's death in 1892.

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Further Reading

Friederick Sass, 1962, Geschichte des deutschen Verbrennungsmotorenbaues von 1860 bis 1918, Berlin: Springen Verlag (a detailed account).

Gustav Goldbeck, 1964, Kraft für die Welt: 100 Jahre Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz AG, Dusseldorf (an account of the history and development of Klockner Humboldt).

KAB