Tuesday 2nd April 1872
George B. Brayton of Boston, Massachusetts. received a US patent for a petrol-powered engine (No. 125,166). Its principle of continuous ignition later became the basis for the turbine engine. A pressurised air-fuel mixture from a reservoir was ignited upon entering a water-cooled cylinder. The Brayton engine was tried in watercraft, one of John Holland’s submarines and one for a few months installed in a carriage (1872-3).