Eugenio Barsanti

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Father Eugenio Barsanti (born Pietrasanta, October 12th 1821; died Searing, Belgium, April 19th 1864), also named Nicolò, was the Italian inventor of the Internal combustion engine.

Lean and low of stature, he studied in a religious scientific oriented institute near Lucca, in Tuscany, and became a novitiate in Florence in 1838 of the little known Piarist Fathers or Scalopi.

He began teaching in a primary school in Florence before the age of 20. One day, during a lecture describing the explosion of mixed Hydrogen and air, he realised the potential for using the energy of the expansion of combusting gases within a motor.

Subsequently, when teaching in a college level institute in Florence he met Felice Matteucci, an hydraulic engineer. Matteucci appreciated the idea for the engine, and the two men worked together on it for the rest of their lives.

They patented their invention in London, on June 12th 1854 as Italian law at that time could not guarantee sufficient international protection on the patent. The construction of the prototype was later completed in the 1860's.

The main advantage of the Barsanti-Matteucci engine was the use of the return force of the piston due to the cooling of the gas. Other approaches based on the pushing force of the explosion, like the one developed by France's Etienne Lenoir, were slower. The Barsanti-Matteucci engine was proven to be much more efficient, and won a silver medal from the institute of science of Lombardy.

In 1856 they developed a two-cylinder 5 HP motor and two years later they built a counter-working two-piston engine.

Barsanti thought that the new engine was a great improvement over the steam engine, it was much safer, less cumbersome and quick to operate. It was however not light enough for use as automotive engine. The main target was to provide mechanical energy in factories and for naval propulsion.

After some searching, Barsanti and Matteucci selected the John Cockeril foundry in Seraing, Belgium to mass-produce a four HP engine. Orders for the engine soon followed from many countries within Europe.

Unfortunately, Barsanti died suddenly of typhoid fever on March 30th 1864 and Matteucci alone was not able to lead the business. The development of the engine failed and Matteucci returned to his first occupation: hydraulics.

When Nikolaus Otto patented his engine, Matteucci unsuccessfully argued that he and his partner Barsanti were the originators.