Stephen Marius Balzer ( – September 29, 1940) was a Hungarian-born American mechanic and inventor. He was the founder of the Balzer Motor Company and later donated one of his cars to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, which was the first car in its collection. An engine he created for pioneering aviator

Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American aviation pioneer, astronomer and physicist who invented the bolometer. He was the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and a professor of astronomy a ...

was heavily modified and used in a craft that has been considered one of the earliest heavier-than-air aircraft. Born , Balzer immigrated in the 1870s from the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

to the United States. He apprenticed as a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

at Tiffany & Co. When he started his own business in 1894, a machine shop, he already held several patents for mechanical devices, among them a device for making

milling cutter Milling cutters are cutting tools typically used in milling machines or machining centres to perform milling operations (and occasionally in other machine tools). They remove material by their movement within the machine (e.g., a ball nose mill) ...

s and his rotary engine. In the same year, he completed his first prototype automobile, a motorized quadricycle with a tube chassis, less than .Balzer automobile

. Accessed April 16, 2017. It had a rotary, air-cooled, 3-cylinder engine, mounted vertically in the rear and revolving around a fixed

crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...

. Turning with the crank case was a stub shaft. It further had a three-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...

with no reverse. One lever engaged speeds and clutch. Each front wheel had its own bicycle fork axle which were connected by a bar which was operated by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

.) By 1897, he had built three cars. Balzer would later recount that he was required by an officer of the

New York Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

to have one of his early test-model cars, which could be driven at a maximum speed of no more than , accompanied by someone walking in front of the car waving a red flag.Staff
"Stephen M. Balzer, Early Auto Maker; Completed His First Car, Now in the Smithsonian, in 1894 --Dies in Andover, N.J. CENTER OF CONTROVERSY Asserted He Built Motor in the Langley Flying Machine, Credited to C.M. Manly"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 1, 1940. Accessed April 16, 2017. On May 16, 1899, Balzer donated his prototype to the

, the first automobile in its collection. It is currently in collection. He developed also 5-cylinder rotary engines. When

Secretary

learned about these vehicles and their engine in 1898, he contacted Balzer, ordering one for his experimental airplane. Balzer had challenges completing this engine, delivering finally not earlier than 1900. For proper use, Langley's technical assistant, Charles M. Manly had to modify it heavily. The engine became known as the Manly–Balzer engine, the first purpose-built airplane engine, with credit largely given to Manly, who was later awarded a medal for his innovations on the engine by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. His business was not very successful, and he left in 1902, still working as a mechanic. He moved to

Andover, New Jersey Andover is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 595, a decrease of 11 (−1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 606, which in turn reflected a decline of ...

, where he died in 1940 at the age of 78.Staff
"Resident's father dies in Andover
''Scarsdale Inquirer'', October 4, 1940. Accessed April 18, 2017.

References

External links

US-Patent No. 573174 at google.com/patents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balzer, Stephen M. 1860s births 1940 deaths American founders of automobile manufacturers Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States People from Andover, New Jersey