Joseph Nicolas Cugnot (1725-) is usually given the merit of having built the world’s first automobile, that is, the first vehicle capable of moving on its own. It was a vehicle intended to tow artillery, and it moved thanks to an enormous boiler placed on the front, but it could not steer. It ended its life against a wall but became a legend for having represented the first stage in mechanical locomotion history. Not much is known about its inventor and manufacturer, except that he died in Paris in 1804, almost forgotten, without ever having seen his “fardier” work.
