Gustav Otto

The boy born in Cologne on 12 January 1883 seemed destined to inherit a passion for technology and design. Gustav Otto was the son of the celebrated German inventor Nikolaus August Otto, founder of N.A. Otto & Cie. and creator of the internal combustion engine. The four-stroke energy-conversion cycle named the Otto cycle in Nikolaus's honour is still used in almost all modern cars.

The famous designer's son developed an early enthusiasm for car and motorcycle racing and competed successfully in sporting events. His attention then turned to aircraft, and in April 1910 he obtained a pilot's licence to fly an Aviatik biplane. His passion for aviation soon led him to establish his own aero-engine workshop, Aeroplanbau Otto-Alberti, later renamed Gustav Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik. In 1910 he built his first biplane, which caused a sensation in Germany. His factory produced more than 30 aircraft over the following years.

The First World War soon broke out, making aircraft manufacturers' products more sought after than ever. After receiving his first large government orders, Gustav Otto realised that his enthusiasm for design had grown beyond an amateur hobby into a large and profitable business.

In 1913, following the successful sale of 47 aircraft to the Bavarian army, he opened a new aircraft factory, Otto-Flugzeugwerke, and subsequently founded another aviation company, AGO Flugzeugwerke. His initially flourishing business gradually declined. The financial problems became so severe that even further government orders could not rescue it. The prospect of his company's bankruptcy troubled him so deeply that he fell into a prolonged depression.

The end of the war brought bad news for aircraft manufacturers: the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from making aircraft engines. Gustav's mental health, already weakened by financial troubles, deteriorated completely, and in 1915 he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Munich. In 1916 his nearly bankrupt business was acquired almost entirely by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke consortium, which from 1917 was called Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW).

After paying his creditors, Gustav Otto decided to try car manufacturing and begin producing luxurious Otto-Mercedes cars. The venture prospered, and the new luxury vehicles soon became popular outside Germany.

Another dark period then began, one he would not overcome. In 1924 his wife Ada left him, and a year later she died in highly mysterious circumstances. Her death plunged him into another depression, compounded by fresh business setbacks. In February 1926, the forty-three-year-old Gustav Otto took his own life.