When Was the Internal Combustion Engine Invented?

The earliest working internal combustion engine is widely credited to 1807, when Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz built a hydrogen-powered engine; however, the first commercially successful engine arrived in 1860 via Étienne Lenoir, and the modern four-stroke design dates to 1876 with Nikolaus Otto. The answer depends on whether one means the first workable prototype, the first engine to sell, or the architecture that defines most engines today.

Why Historians Cite Different Years

“Invention” can mean the first functioning device, the first practical or commercial version, or the breakthrough that establishes the dominant design. Internal combustion crossed all three milestones over several decades, which is why you’ll see 1807, 1860, and 1876 all cited as pivotal years.

Key Milestones on the Road to the Internal Combustion Engine

The development of internal combustion was incremental, with inventors refining fuel, ignition, and mechanical cycles. The following timeline highlights the most significant steps that shape how different sources answer the “what year” question.

• 1673: Christiaan Huygens sketches a gunpowder “explosion” engine—an early concept using internal combustion but not a practical heat engine.
• 1794: Robert Street patents an engine that vaporizes fuel and ignites it with a flame—an early internal combustion design in Britain.
• 1807: François Isaac de Rivaz builds a hydrogen–oxygen internal combustion engine in Switzerland; he fits it to a vehicle in 1808, demonstrating automotive potential.
• 1823: Samuel Brown operates a gas vacuum engine on a vehicle on Shooter’s Hill, London—another proof-of-concept for propulsion.
• 1860: Étienne Lenoir produces the first commercially successful, spark-ignited gas engine in France; thousands are built for industrial use.
• 1862: Alphonse Beau de Rochas patents the four-stroke cycle principle (intake, compression, power, exhaust), laying theoretical groundwork.
• 1876: Nikolaus Otto builds the first practical four-stroke engine, creating the template for most modern gasoline engines.
• 1885–1886: Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach adapt high-speed IC engines for lightweight vehicles; Karl Benz builds his Patent-Motorwagen, launching the automobile era.

Taken together, these milestones show why different communities—historians, engineers, and the auto industry—lean on different dates to define when the internal combustion engine was “invented.”

Which Year Should You Use?

If you mean the first working IC engine

1807 (François Isaac de Rivaz) is the best-supported year for a functioning internal combustion engine demonstrably used to power a vehicle.

If you mean the first commercial engine

1860 (Étienne Lenoir) marks the debut of the first commercially produced internal combustion engine, used widely in workshops and factories.

If you mean the foundation of modern engines

1876 (Nikolaus Otto) is the pivotal year for the four-stroke engine whose cycle underpins most gasoline engines to this day.

Context Matters in Citing the “Invention” Year

Unlike a single eureka moment, the internal combustion engine emerged through centuries of experimentation. Early concepts explored internal explosions, mid-19th-century advances brought reliability and sales, and later breakthroughs locked in the thermodynamic cycle that defined the modern era. Citing 1807, 1860, or 1876 is accurate—so long as you match the year to the criterion: first functioning device, first commercial success, or canonical design.

Summary

The internal combustion engine’s invention is commonly dated to 1807 (de Rivaz) for the first working engine, 1860 (Lenoir) for the first commercial engine, and 1876 (Otto) for the modern four-stroke design. Choose the year that aligns with the context you need: prototype, market adoption, or technological foundation.

What was the first car with an internal combustion engine?

Benz Patent Motor Car
On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” The patent – number 37435 – may be regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile. In July 1886 the newspapers reported on the first public outing of the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car, model no. 1.

What fuel did the first car run on?

The very first self-propelled vehicles used steam as their fuel, with Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot building the first steam-powered vehicle in 1769. However, the first successful and practical automobile, Karl Benz’s Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, ran on a petroleum-based fuel. Early in the history of automobiles, other fuels were also used, including electricity for some cars in the 1880s and 1890s, and gasoline, which was a less valuable byproduct of kerosene production before the invention of the car made it a valuable fuel commodity. 
Early Vehicles and Their Fuels

• Steam-Powered Vehicles: Before the internal combustion engine, steam was the primary fuel source for early road vehicles. The earliest examples, such as Cugnot’s steam-powered tricycle (1769), utilized steam to power the vehicle. 
• Petroleum-Fueled Cars: Karl Benz’s 1886 Patent-Motorwagen, considered the first practical automobile, was powered by a petroleum-fueled internal combustion engine. He used a fuel called Ligroin to power his engine. 
• Early Alternatives: Other fuels were also tested and used for early cars, including: 
  • Electricity: Some early cars in the late 19th century ran on electricity, as demonstrated by Gustave Trouvé in 1881. 
  • Gasoline: Though initially a discarded byproduct of kerosene production, gasoline quickly became the dominant fuel for internal combustion engines after the invention of the automobile. 
  • Other Petroleum Products: In the early days, drivers could also purchase gasoline from general stores, or run their engines on kerosene or turpentine. 

When did we start using combustion engines?

Automobile and the Environment in American History: Energy Use and the Internal Combustion Engine. The first gasoline-fueled, four-stroke cycle engine was built in Germany in 1876. In 1886, Carl Benz began the first commercial production of motor vehicles with internal combustion engines.

When was the internal combustion engine invented in America?

1798
In 1798, John Stevens designed the first American internal combustion engine. In 1807, French engineers Nicéphore and Claude Niépce ran a prototype internal combustion engine, using controlled dust explosions, the Pyréolophore. This engine powered a boat on the river in France.