Siegfried Marcus

Siegfried Samuel Marcus, born on 18 September 1831 in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and died on 1 July 1898, was a German engineer and inventor who lived and worked in Vienna, Austria. He is credited with making the first petrol-powered vehicle, a handcart, in 1870, and he built a second vehicle in 1888 or 1889, although it is not known whether he used it and he did not develop it further. His vehicles had no influence on the development of cars, and some journalists regarded his experimental machines as impractical. He is nevertheless credited with developing the ignition magneto used in spark-ignition engines.