John Philip Holland
It would be wrong to claim the German submarine fleet of the World wars was directly descended from Wilhelm Bauer’s prototypes, but he nevertheless influenced them. The modern submarine began its history with the inventions of Simon Lake and John Philip Holland. However, the submarine pioneers of the 19th century - de Villeroi, Monturiol, Hunley and others - were all aware of Bauer’s efforts and drew inspiration and even ideas from his submarine.