Rudolf Diesel
Entrepreneur
German engineer who built his eponymous internal combustion engine.
He assisted Carl von Linde in building a modern refrigeration and ice plant after graduating from the Royal Bavarian Polytechnic of Munich.
He wasn't the first to patent an internal combustion engine, but he did make a more efficient version that was eventually used by trains and trucks.
He married his wife Martha Flasche in 1883.
He and Karl Benz were both well-known Germans who made significant contributions to automobile technology.