J. G. Kaller

J. G. Kaller was a resident at Mankato, Minnesota who, in 1897, claimed to have devised a hydraulic motor that was, in effect, a perpetual motion machine, described thusly: "The principle upon which it works is the natural law which causes substances lighter than water to rise to the surface. An endless chain of small air-tight tanks is placed over two sprocket wheels in such a manner that on one side it will pass upward through a large tank of water. As each air-tank enters the water tank from below through a water-tight value, it will be forced to the surface by the superior weight of the water, and in this way the chain will be kept in perpetual motion, revolving the sprocked wheels, to which shafts are attached." As one might expect, nothing further seems to have come of the invention after being first widely reported.