Who invented the petrol engine?

Nicolaus August Otto (10 June 1832, Holzhausen a der Haide, Nassau – 26 January 1891, Cologne) was a German engineer who successfully developed the compressed charge internal combustion engine which ran on petroleum gas and led to the modern internal combustion engine. The Association of German Engineers (VDI) created the DIN standard 1940 which says "Otto Engine: internal combustion engine in which the ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture is initiated by a timed spark", which has been applied to all engines of this type since.

Nicolaus August Otto was born on 10 June 1832 in Holzhausen a der Haide, Germany. He was the youngest of six children. His father died in 1832. He began school in 1838. After six years of good performance, he moved to the high school in Langenschwalbachuntil 1848. He did not complete his studies but was cited for good performance.

His main interest in school had been in science and technology but he graduated after three years as a business apprentice in a small merchandise company. After completing his apprenticeship he moved to Frankfurt where he worked for Philipp Jakob Lindheimer as a salesman of colonial goods and agricultural products (he was a grocery salesman). Otto worked for various companies, first for IC Alpeter and then in 1860 for Carl Mertens. He traveled throughout Western Germany and sold colonial goods—coffee, tea, rice, and sugar.