János Csonka (22 January 1852 in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

– 27 October 1939 in

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) was a Hungarian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, the co-

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

of the

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...

for the stationary engine with Donát Bánki, patented on 13 February 1893.

Life

Csonka, self-educated in many fields, had no university degree, but became one of the greatest figures of Hungarian engineering industry, and with the carburetor he has heavily contributed to technical development in the world. He studied the Lenoir motor in

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in 1874 and there he recognized the prospects of the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

. He became head of the training workshop at the Technical University of Budapest at the age of 25 where he employed skilled workers at his own expense, which allowed him to use the workshop for his experiments. Csonka retired at the age of 73 and filed his last patent application at the age of 84.

Inventions

As the head of the workshop in 1879, Csonka invented the first Hungarian gas engine, several other engines and

vehicles A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-powered tr ...

, including the first motor tricycle and postal automobile of the Hungarian Post, which were used for decades. In the 1890s, together with Donát Bánki, they produced the Bánki-Csonka engine and the first Hungarian motorcycle and motor-boat.

References

External links

JÁNOS CSONKA (1852 - 1939)
at www.hungarianhistory.com 1852 births 1939 deaths Engineers from Austria-Hungary Inventors from Austria-Hungary Hungarian inventors Hungarian automotive engineers Hungarian automotive pioneers People from Szeged Hungarian industrialists Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery {{Hungary-engineer-stub