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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.12.15 16:01l 46 Lines 2059 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 78626_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 15
Path: IW8PGT<IW7BFZ<I3XTY<I0OJJ<N6RME<CX2SA<N9PMO<NS2B<N0KFQ
Sent: 151215/1457Z 78626@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1896
Stephen M. Balzer patents rotary-engine auto
On this day in 1896, the U.S. government awards Patent Number
573,174 to inventor Stephen M. Balzer for a gasoline-powered
motor buggy that he built two years earlier. Balzer never
mass-produced any of his cars, but his "experimental" vehicle was
one of the first functioning automobiles to be built in the
United States. Today, the Balzer car is on display at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It was the first
gas-powered car in the museum's collection.
In 1894, Balzer was working in the machine-manufacturing business
by day; by night, he was building an internal-combustion motor
car that he hoped would make him famous. The Balzer car had a
three-cylinder, air-cooled rotary motor. It was open at the top
and sides, so it looked a bit like a park bench held awkwardly
aloft by four pneumatic bicycle tires. Unlike other autos of the
era, the Balzer's rear wheels were much larger than its front
wheels-they were 28 and 18 inches across, respectively. This
design quirk helped the car to keep its traction and its
maneuverability. (Some modern-day tractors still use this wheel
configuration.) Though his car could not go faster than 4 miles
per hour, New York City police officers still insisted that
Balzer be accompanied on his test-drives by an assistant marching
ahead of the sputtering vehicle, warning pedestrians out of the
way by waving a giant red flag.
Balzer incorporated the Balzer Motor Company in 1900, but he was
more interested in tinkering with engines than in the business
side of auto manufacturing, and so the company never made any
money. Later, Balzer helped to design the motor in Professor S.P.
Langley's famously ill-fated 1903 flying machine (after floating
through the air for about 100 yards, it crashed and sank to the
bottom of the Potomac River). After that, he spent his career
designing and manufacturing surgical equipment. Balzer died in
1940.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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