Krupp family

His parents were Bavarian immigrants living in Paris. He met his wife, a daughter of a Nuremberg merchant, in Paris in and became a leather goods manufacturer there. Shortly after his birth, Diesel was given away to a Vincennes farmer family, where he spent his first nine months.

Krupp factory today

When he was returned to his family, they moved into the flat 49 in the Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi. At the time, the Diesel family suffered from financial difficulties, thus young Rudolf Diesel had to work in his father's workshop and deliver leather goods to customers using a barrow. He attended a Protestant -French school and soon became interested in social questions and technology.

At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War the same year, his family were deported to England, settling in London, where Diesel attended an English-speaking school.

Thyssenkrupp pronunciation

At the age of 14, Diesel wrote a letter to his parents saying that he intended to become an engineer. After finishing his basic education at the top of his class in , he enrolled at the newly founded Industrial School of Augsburg. Two years later, he received a merit scholarship from the Royal Bavarian Polytechnic of Munich , which he accepted against the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to begin working instead.

One of Diesel's professors in Munich was Carl von Linde. Diesel was unable to graduate with his class in July because he fell ill with typhoid fever. While waiting for the next examination date, he gained practical engineering experience at the Sulzer Brothers Machine Works in Winterthur , Switzerland. Diesel graduated in January with highest academic honours and returned to Paris, where he assisted Linde with the design and construction of a modern refrigeration and ice plant.

Diesel became the director of the plant a year afterwards. In , Diesel married Martha Flasche, and continued to work for Linde, gaining numerous patents in both Germany and France.