'François Isaac de Rivaz' (
Paris,
December 19 1752 –
Sion,
July 30 1828) was an inventor from
Switzerland. He is credited with the construction of the first
internal combustion engine during 1806 and a rudimentary
automobile powered by it in 1807. Gasoline was not used for internal combustion engines until 1870. The fuel used was actually Hydrogen extracted from water. He also experimented with steam-powered vehicles in the late
18th century.