Happy Belated Birthday, Hybrid

Ten days late: 100th Anniversary of First US Hybrid Car Patent.

Happy Birthday, Hybrids! You may not have known it, but March 2 is the 100th anniversary of the granting of the first US patent for what was called the "Mixed Drive for Autovehicles."

Henri Pieper, a German-born inventor and gunmaker in Belgium, submitted his application on November 23, 1905-and was granted a US patent on March 2, 1909. Its opening paragraph says:

"Be it known that I, Henri Pieper, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at 18 Rue des Bayards, in Liege, Belgium, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mixed Drives for Autovehicles…The invention…comprises an internal combustion or similar engine, a dynamo motor direct connected therewith, and a storage battery or accumulator in circuit with the dynamo motor, these elements being cooperatively related so that the dynamo motor may be run as a motor by the electrical energy stored in the accumulator to start the engine or to furnish a portion of the power delivered by the set, or may be run as a generator by the engine, when the power of the latter is in excess of that demanded of the set, and caused to store energy in the accumulator."

Voila: the gas-electric hybrid!