Burmester and Allievi: A theory and its application for mechanism design at the end of 19th century

The second half of 19th century can be considered as the Golden Age of TMM for the achieved theoretical and practical results that led to enhancements of machinery during the second Industrial Revolution. Burmester and Allievi can be considered as significant examples of that time for their personalities and careers as well as for their work on kinematics of mechanisms. In this paper, a survey is presented on their curricula and main scientific works on mechanism design with the aim also to stress similarities and differences in the life of kinematicians and in developments in mechanism design at the end of 19th century.