Rudolf Diesel vanished from a Channel steamer in 1913 and left his wife a bag of money with papers showing his debts

Rudolf Diesel developed his engine at the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg with backing from Krupp. After its success around 1897 he became famous and rich. After a nervous breakdown, believing he would die, he sold all his rights to the engine to secure his family, which cut him off from its development. While ill he was drawn into speculative investments and lost money. Much of what remained was in shares of engine companies that paid nothing for years. His patents expired in 1908, and he fought long, costly disputes over his patents and his credit as inventor. On the night of 29 September 1913 he boarded the steamer Dresden at Antwerp for Harwich, on his way to a business meeting. When the ship arrived he was gone. His bed had not been slept in, and his nightclothes were laid out on it. Before the trip he had given his wife, Martha, a bag with orders not to open it for a week. It held money and documents showing his debts. On 10 October a body was seen floating in the North Sea. A Dutch pilot boat found it but did not bring it ashore. The death was ruled a suicide. Theories that German agents or business rivals killed him have no proof. His papers are held by the Deutsches Museum in Munich.