Karl Benz

In 1885, German mechanical engineer Karl Benz designed and built the world’s first practical car with an internal combustion engine. On 29 January 1886, he received the first patent, DRP No. 37435, for a car running on gaseous fuel. It had three wheels. Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. By 1900, his company, Benz & Company, had become the world’s largest car manufacturer.

Karl Friedrich Benz was born in 1844 in Mühlburg, Baden, Germany, now part of Karlsruhe. He was the son of a locomotive driver. He attended secondary school and later the polytechnic university in Karlsruhe. In 1871, he and August Ritter founded his first company, the Iron Foundry and Machine Shop, which also supplied building materials.

Benz began developing a two-stroke engine in the hope of finding a new source of income. He received his first patent in 1879. In 1883, he founded Benz & Company and began manufacturing industrial engines in Mannheim, Germany. He then started designing a motor carriage with a four-stroke engine based on Nikolaus Otto’s patent. He designed a 958 cc, 0.78 hp engine and the body of a three-wheeled vehicle with electric ignition, differential gearing and water cooling. Its first journey took place in Mannheim in 1885. On 29 January 1886, he patented his gaseous-fuel car, DRP No. 37435, and in July began selling the vehicles to the public.

In 1893, his Velo became the world’s first inexpensive mass-produced passenger car. Karl left Benz & Company in 1903, as his designs had become outdated compared with Gottlieb Daimler’s developments. From the establishment of Daimler-Benz AG in 1926 until his death, he served on its supervisory board. In 1872, he married Bertha Ringer, who played an active role in his business. They had five children. Karl Benz died in 1929.