Biography
When Carl Benz was two years old, his father died. After finishing school with a high school diploma, he attended the scientifically oriented Lyceum in Karlsruhe from 1853 onwards. From 1860 to 1864 he studied mechanical engineering. Benz began his professional life in 1864 as a locksmith. After a few months he left Karlsruhe and got a job as a designer in vehicle construction in Mannheim. Here he and a partner founded an iron foundry for industrial components in 1871. After a short time, the collaboration broke down and Benz was able to maintain the business with the financial help of his fiancée Berta Ringer, who more than trusted his abilities. In 1872 he married Berta, who gave him two sons. Benz's vision was to design a vehicle that could drive under its own power and without rails.
After many years of development work, in 1877 he succeeded in building a 0.9 hp gas engine in the 2-stroke system. This unit was used because the four-stroke engine that already existed was protected by the patent of Nikolaus August Otto. After the engine had achieved the desired level of reliability after further perfection, Benz founded a stock corporation in 1880 in which he held a five percent stake. With the capital at his disposal, nothing stood in the way of further development work, which Benz now undertook with the construction of a 4-horsepower gas engine. After differences arose with shareholders over the design, Benz left the company in 1883 to found "Benz & Cie. Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik" in Mannheim with new shareholders. Here he further developed the now patent-free Otto engine. The focus of the work was on solving the problem that the previous engines were too heavy for a car.
In 1885, Benz succeeded in installing a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine with electric ignition, water cooling and surface carburetor in a three-wheeled wooden car. This solution was implemented because it allowed for better steering. It was the first motor vehicle in which the engine and chassis formed a single unit. Benz created the first automobile in 1885. This Benz vehicle already had a differential gear on the drive axle and solid rubber tires for even power transmission. In the same year, Wilhelm Maybach installed a 0.5 hp unit in a so-called Reitwagen in Gottlieb Daimler's workshop in Stuttgart, which can now be viewed as the world's first motorcycle. On January 29, 1886, Benz made industrial history when he applied for a patent for the first "automobile" at the Reich Patent Office under number 37435. However, he still received scorn and ridicule from the public for his work: "A carriage without horses".
In 1888, Benz presented his motor car for two hours a day at the Munich "Power and Work Machinery Exhibition", where the development was applauded by the press. The trade fair committee awarded his patent the gold medal for the most outstanding innovation. This did not change the cautious public opinion. After Benz had visited the Paris World Exhibition of 1889 in search of recognition, he returned and continued working on the design of a four-wheeled motor car. At the beginning of 1893 the steering system was perfected for installation and a patent was applied for in the same year. When the first orders followed, Benz, who built the first two-cylinder engines in 1896, was making a profit with his company. When production needed to be further increased, he founded Benz & Cie in 1899 as a capital measure. Aktiengesellschaft, with a third of the shares remaining with Benz.
As early as 1900, Benz was able to offer over 600 different model designs from standard to sports cars for sale. In 1903, at the age of 60, Benz retired from the company, although he remained a voting shareholder. In 1926 Benz & Cie. merged. with Daimler-Motoren Aktiengesellschaft from Gottlieb Daimler to Daimler-Benz AG.
Carl Friedrich Benz died on April 4, 1929 in Ladenburg near Mannheim.
