Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Nikolaus August Otto (10 Jun 1832–26 Jan 1891), Find a Grave Memorial no. 34649202, citing Melaten-Friedhof, Cologne, Stadtkreis Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
Nikolaus Otto Despite a lack of technical training, Nikolaus August Otto (1832-1891) had the ingenuity to make the first practical internal combustion engine. He later devised the four-stroke engine, known as the Otto cycle, which was widely used for automobile and other motors.
Nikolaus August Otto was a German engineer who developed an effective internal combustion engine. Otto’s development of a four-stroke engine significantly reduced the weight and increased the power of a petrol engine, making petrol-powered cars a realistic proposition and alternative to steam power. It ushered in a new era of the automobile, which changed life for millions in the Twentieth Century.