--- title: The Mystery of the Diesel Engine's Disappearing Inventor description: Sept. 29, 1913: Rudolf Diesel vanishes at sea canonical: https://time.com/4049401/diesel-disappearance/ author: Jennifer Latson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-29T13:15:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:29.793Z article:section: History og:title: The Mystery of the Diesel Engine's Disappearing Inventor og:description: Sept. 29, 1913: Rudolf Diesel vanishes at sea og:url: https://time.com/4049401/diesel-disappearance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9471dd4f50f166df/69886569524fc0f118df4b54/diesel.jpeg?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 597 og:image:height: 336 og:image:alt: RUDOLF DIESEL 1858-1913 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Mystery of the Diesel Engine's Disappearing Inventor twitter:description: Sept. 29, 1913: Rudolf Diesel vanishes at sea twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9471dd4f50f166df/69886569524fc0f118df4b54/diesel.jpeg?branch=production&width=597&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Mysterious Disappearance of the Diesel Engine’s Inventor > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=5cae50e6-889b-4010-8191-0aa94294182a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=5cae50e6-889b-4010-8191-0aa94294182a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Sep 29, 2015 1:15 PM UTC  Rudolf Diesel in 1897 Rudolf Diesel in 1897 Gamma-Keystone / Getty Images by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Sep 29, 2015 1:15 PM UTC The engine that bears his name earned him a fortune in royalties, and the German engineer and inventor Rudolf Diesel was apparently doing well when he boarded a steamship from Belgium to England on this day, Sept. 29, in 1913\. But he never got off the ship the following day. When it docked in England, Diesel simply wasn’t on board. The circumstances of his disappearance were mysterious, to say the least. The bed in Diesel’s cabin hadn’t been slept in, although “his night attire was laid out on it,” according to the [New York _Times_](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A06E5D7163DE633A25752C0A9669D946296D6CF)_._ Friends and relatives were flummoxed. They speculated that he had fallen overboard, arguing that his frequent insomnia might have made him pace the deck when everyone else was asleep. But the sea had been calm that night, and as the story developed, a more likely explanation emerged: suicide, motivated in part by financial troubles. The New York _Times’_ headlines chronicle a strange story that grew stranger every day, starting with “[Dr. Diesel Vanishes From a Steamship](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A06E5D7163DE633A25752C0A9669D946296D6CF)”(Oct. 1), then “[NO RAY OF LIGHT ON DIESEL MYSTERY: German Inventor Was a Millionaire and His Home Was Happy](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9402E0D7163DE633A25751C0A9669D946296D6CF)”(Oct. 2), followed by “[DIESEL FAMILY IN STRAITS: Missing Inventor Said to Have Left Them in Extreme Need](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A05E2DC1730E233A25750C1A9669D946296D6CF)”(Oct. 13) and then “[DIESEL WAS BANKRUPT: He Owed $375,000 — Tangible Assets Only About $10,000](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D03EFDE133FE633A25756C1A9669D946296D6CF)”(Oct. 15). By the following spring, an even stranger headline cropped up: “[REPORTS DR. DIESEL LIVING IN CANADA: Munich Journal Hears Inventor, Supposedly Drowned, Has Begun Life Anew](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B05E6DB1E39E633A25755C1A9659C946596D6CF).” This report doesn’t seem to have held water, however; no follow-up stories could confirm the account. As [TIME told it](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,765040-2,00.html), in a 1940 story, Diesel had long been plagued by health woes and money troubles — he was a better inventor than investor. But, the story questions suicide as an explanation for his disappearance, arguing that “in 1913 things were going fairly well.” And, it notes ominously, “\[n\]o note, no clue, no trace of his body was ever found.” (This last point is also up for debate: [a body turned up](http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B05E6DB1E39E633A25755C1A9659C946596D6CF) 11 days later, at the mouth of a Dutch river, matching Diesel’s description in appearance and dress, but public opinion was mixed on whether this was sufficient proof of his death.) Of course, conspiracy theories abounded. One was that Diesel was [snuffed out by the German secret service](http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/0331/033.html) because the Diesel engine played an instrumental part in the development of the U-boat — and they didn’t want him to share its secrets with the Brits. Others suspected rival inventors or business competitors. While there was never an official investigation into Diesel’s disappearance, its strangeness and his relative celebrity kept the case in the public eye, and a few tantalizing details eventually emerged. One, according to Greg Pahl, the author of [_Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy_](http://www.amazon.com/Biodiesel-Growing-New-Energy-Economy/dp/1933392967/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442791191&sr=8-1&keywords=biodiesel%3A+growing), was that just before he left, Diesel gave his wife a bag he told her not to open until the following week. It contained 20,000 German marks, along with financial statements that revealed the depths of the family’s debt. An even more persuasive piece of evidence was found in his notebook — where he had penciled a small cross next to the date Sept. 29. **_Read more about Diesel, here in the TIME archives_**: [His Name is an Engine](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,765040-1,00.html) ### See Original Models of the Apple I and Other Iconic American Inventions  Printing Press, 1830: Issac Adams, (Unnumbered Patent) The style of bed and platen printing press in this patent model inspired Issac Adams’ design of the later Adams Power Press, which was praised by early 19th century printers for its production of quality book work. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Telegraph, 1837: Samuel F. B. Morse, Prototype. Samuel F. B. Morse converted an artist’s canvas stretcher into a telegraph receiver that recorded a message as a wavy line on a strip of paper. His telegraph transmitter sent electric pulses representing letter and numbers that activated an electromagnet on the receiver. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Violin, 1852: William S. Mount, (Patent No. 8981). William S. Mount proposed creating violins with concave or hollow backs. This patent model represented a design innovation that would minimize the strain on the violin soundboard and avoid interference with the “sonorous and vibrating qualities” of the instrument. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Typewriter, 1868: C. Latham Sholes, Carlos Glidden & Samuel W. Soule (Patent No. 79265). This patent model was created by the three Milwaukee inventors who made progress towards a viable typewriting machine. Six years later, Remington & Sons produced the first commercially successful machine, bearing the names of Sholes and Glidden. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Sewing Machine, 1873: Helen Blanchard, (Patent No. 141987). This patent model for an improvement in sewing machines introduced the buttonhole stitch. Blanchard received some 28 patents, many having to do with sewing. She is best remembered for another overstitch sewing invention, the “zigzag.” Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Camera Shutter, 1879: Eadweard Muybridge, (Patent No. 212865). This “Method and Apparatus for Photographing Objects in Motion” was adapted to photographic equipment. As demonstrated with this patent model, it could produce images of subjects in rapid motion. It was used by Eadweard Muybridge in his celebrated animal locomotion photography. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Incandescent Lamp, 1881: Thomas Edison (Patent No. 239373). Thomas Edison submitted this model to patent a variation on his newly invented light bulb. Although he never put this design into production, this lamp could be disassembled to replace a burned-out filament. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  High-Strength Fiber, 1965: Stephanie Kwolek (Patent Nos. 3819587 and RE30352). Kwolek’s 1965 discovery at DuPont of strong polymer fibers resulted in DuPont Kevlar, best known for its use in bullet-resistant body armor Courtesy Hagley Museum and Library  Apple I Computer, 1976: Steve Jobs (Patent No. 7166791) & Steve Wozniak (Patent No. 4136359). In 1976 the first form of computer designed by Stephen Wozniak and sold by Wozniak in conjunction with Steve Jobs was sold, and became a leader in personal computing. Originally marketed to hobbyists only primarily as a fully assembled circuit board; purchasers had to add their own case and monitor in order to create a working computer. Courtesy Smithsonian National Museum of American History  Artificial Heart, 1977: Robert Jarvik, M.D., Prototype. This electrohydraulic artificial heart is a prototype for what became the Jarvik-7 Total Artificial Heart, which was first implanted into a human in December 1982 at the University of Utah Medical Center. The two sides of the device are connected with Velcro. 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