Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (German: [kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈbɛnts]; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engineer who designed engines and worked on cars. His invention, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885, is considered the first practical, modern automobile and the first car to be mass-produced. He received a patent for the motorcar in 1886, the same year he first publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

His company, Benz & Cie., was located in Mannheim. It was the first automobile factory in the world and the largest at that time. In 1926, it combined with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz, which produces the Mercedes-Benz and other brands.

For his achievements, Benz is often called "the father of the car" and "the father of the automobile industry."

Early life

Carl Benz was born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant on 25 November 1844 in Mühlburg, now a section of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, which is part of modern Germany. His parents were Josephine Vaillant and Johann Georg Benz, a locomotive driver. Josephine married Johann Georg Benz a few months after Karl’s birth. According to German law, Karl inherited the name "Benz" through his parents’ marriage. When Karl was two years old, his father died of pneumonia, and Karl’s name was changed to Karl Friedrich Benz to honor his father.

Although the family faced financial hardship, Karl’s mother worked hard to ensure he received a good education. Benz attended school in Karlsruhe and was a very talented student. In 1853, at age nine, he began studying at a school focused on science and math. After finishing school, he studied engineering at Karlsruhe’s polytechnical school under the guidance of Ferdinand Redtenbacher.

Initially, Benz studied locksmithing, but he later chose to follow his father’s career path in locomotive engineering. On 30 September 1860, at age 15, he passed an exam to enter the Karlsruhe polytechnical school for mechanical engineering and then attended the school. Benz graduated on 9 July 1864, at age 19.

After completing his education, Benz spent seven years gaining work experience at several companies, but he struggled to find a good fit. His training began in Karlsruhe, where he worked for two years in a mechanical engineering company. He later moved to Mannheim to work as a draftsman and designer at a scales factory. In 1868, he worked for a bridge-building company in Pforzheim called Gebrüder Benckiser Eisenwerke und Maschinenfabrik. Later, he briefly worked at an iron construction company in Vienna.

Benz's first factory and early inventions (1871–1882)

In 1871, Benz partnered with August Ritter to start the Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop in Mannheim, which later became known as the Factory for Machines for Sheet-metal Working.

The business had a difficult first year. Ritter proved to be untrustworthy, and the company’s tools were taken away. This problem was solved when Benz’s fiancée, Bertha Ringer, used money from her family to buy Ritter’s share of the company.

On July 20, 1872, Benz and Bertha Ringer married. They had five children: Eugen (born 1873), Richard (born 1874), Clara (born 1877), Thilde (born 1882), and Ellen (born 1890).

Even though the business faced challenges, Benz worked on creating new engines in the factory he and his wife owned. To earn more money, he started developing new inventions in 1878. He first focused on building a dependable petrol two-stroke engine. Benz completed his two-stroke engine on December 31, 1879, and received a patent for it on June 28, 1880.

While designing the standard model for his two-stroke engine, Benz patented several important parts, including the speed control system, spark ignition using a battery, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator.

Benz's Gasmotoren-Fabrik Mannheim (1882–1883)

Problems happened again when the banks in Mannheim required that the Benz's business be incorporated because of the high production costs it had. To gain more support from banks, they formed a partnership with photographer Emil Bühler and his brother, who sold cheese. The company became the joint-stock company Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim in 1882.

After all the required agreements were completed, Benz was unhappy because he only had five percent of the shares and a smaller role as a director. The most difficult part was that his ideas were not used when creating new products. Because of this, he left the company one year later, in 1883.

Benz and Cie. and the Benz Patent-Motorwagen

Carl Benz’s long-term interest in bicycles led him to a repair shop in Mannheim owned by Max Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Eßlinger. In 1883, the three men started a new company to make industrial machines. The company was named Benz & Cie. Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik, often called Benz & Cie. It quickly grew to have twenty-five workers and soon began making stationary gas engines.

The company’s success allowed Benz to work on his long-time goal of designing a horseless carriage. Using ideas from bicycles, he built an automobile. The car had wire wheels instead of wooden ones, and a four-stroke engine of his own design between the rear wheels. It used advanced coil ignition and evaporative cooling instead of a radiator. Power was sent to the rear axle through two roller chains. Benz completed the car in 1885 and named it the "Benz Patent-Motorwagen."

The Motorwagen was patented on 29 January 1886 as DRP-37435: "automobile fueled by gas." The 1885 version was hard to control and crashed into a wall during a public demonstration. The first successful tests on public roads happened in early summer 1886. Benz first drove the car publicly on 3 July 1886 in Mannheim, reaching a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). In 1887, Benz created the Motorwagen Model 2 with several changes. In 1889, the final Model 3, which had wooden wheels, was introduced and shown at the Paris Expo.

Benz began selling the Motorwagen (advertising it as "Benz Patent-Motorwagen") in late summer 1888, making it the first automobile available for purchase. The second customer was Emile Roger, a Parisian bicycle maker who had already built Benz engines under license. Roger added Benz automobiles (many made in France) to his product line in Paris, and most were sold there.

The early 1888 version of the Motorwagen had only two gears and could not climb hills without help. This problem was solved after Bertha Benz drove one of the vehicles on a long trip and suggested adding a third gear to help climb hills. During this trip, she also invented brake pads.

Bertha Benz's long-distance drive

The world's first long-distance automobile trip was made by Bertha Benz using a Model 3. On the morning of August 5, 1888, Bertha traveled 104 kilometers (65 miles) from Mannheim to Pforzheim to visit her mother, without telling her husband. She took her sons, Eugen and Richard, with her. Along the way, she had to find pharmacies to refuel and fix technical and mechanical issues. One problem she solved was the invention of brake lining. After driving down long hills, she asked a shoemaker to attach leather to the brake blocks. Bertha and her sons arrived at night and told Karl about their journey by telegram. Her goal was to show that the Benz Motorwagen could be used for travel and to create public interest, a method now called live marketing. Today, Germany celebrates this event every two years with an antique car rally.

In 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route was recognized as part of the world's industrial heritage because it follows the path of Bertha's 1888 journey. The public can now travel the 194-kilometer (121-mile) marked route from Mannheim through Heidelberg to Pforzheim (Black Forest) and back. The return trip did not go through Heidelberg and followed a slightly shorter path, as shown on maps of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route.

Benz's Model 3 first appeared publicly at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. About twenty-five Motorwagens were built between 1886 and 1893.

Benz and Cie. expansion

The high demand for engines that remain in one place forced Benz to expand the factory in Mannheim. In 1886, a new building on Waldhofstrasse (used until 1908) was added. Between 1889 and 1899, Benz & Cie. grew from 50 employees to 430.

By the end of the 1800s, Benz was the world’s largest automobile company, producing 572 vehicles in 1899.

Because of its size, Benz & Cie. became a company owned by many people through shares in 1899. Friedrich von Fischer and Julius Ganß joined the company’s management team. Ganß worked in the commercialization department, which is similar to marketing in modern businesses.

The new leaders suggested creating a less expensive car that could be made in large numbers. From 1893 to 1900, Benz sold the Victoria, a four-wheel, two-passenger car with a 2.2 kW (3.0 hp) engine that reached 18 km/h (11 mph). The car had a front axle that turned using a roller-chained tiller. It sold 85 units in 1893 and later had a four-seated version called the "Vis-à-Vis."

From 1894 to 1902, Benz made over 1,200 units of the Velocipede, later called the Benz Velo. Early models had a 1L 1.5-horsepower engine, and later models had a 3-horsepower engine, allowing speeds of up to 19 km/h (12 mph).

The Velo took part in the world’s first automobile race, the 1894 Paris to Rouen, where Émile Roger finished 14th, completing 126 km (78 mi) in 10 hours and 1 minute at an average speed of 12.7 km/h (7.9 mph).

In 1895, Benz designed the first truck with an internal combustion engine. He also built the first motor buses for the Netphener bus company.

In 1896, Benz received a patent for the first flat engine, which had pistons moving side by side. This design balanced the engine’s movement and is still used today by companies like Porsche, Subaru, and in racing cars. In motorcycles, the most famous flat engine is found in BMW Motorrad.

Although Gottlieb Daimler died in March 1900, and there is no evidence Benz and Daimler knew each other, competition with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Stuttgart began to challenge Benz & Cie. In 1900, Wilhelm Maybach, DMG’s main designer, built the engine used in the Mercedes-35hp of 1902. The engine was named "Daimler-Mercedes" after Emil Jellinek’s daughter. Maybach left DMG in 1907 but designed the car. The first model was delivered to Jellinek in December 1900. Jellinek’s racing success encouraged DMG to produce cars commercially, starting in 1902.

Benz responded with the Parsifal, introduced in 1903 with a vertical twin engine that reached 60 km/h (37 mph). Later, without consulting Benz, the company hired French designers.

France had a strong automobile industry based on Maybach’s designs. After disagreements, Benz announced his retirement from design management in 1903 but remained on the company’s board until its 1926 merger with DMG. He stayed on the board of the new Daimler-Benz company until his death in 1929.

Benz’s sons, Eugen and Richard, left Benz & Cie. in 1903, but Richard returned in 1904 as the designer of passenger vehicles.

In 1903, Benz & Cie. sold 3,480 automobiles and remained the leading car manufacturer.

While continuing as a director, Benz started another company, C. Benz Söhne, with his son Eugen. The company used the initials of his name, "Carl," as its brand.

In 1909, Benz & Cie. built the Blitzen Benz in Mannheim. The car had a 21.5-liter (1312ci), 150 kW (200 hp) engine. On 9 November 1909, French racer Victor Hémery drove it at Brooklands, setting a speed record of 226.91 km/h (141.00 mph). This was said to be "faster than any plane, train, or automobile" at the time, a record not broken for ten years. The car was shown in multiple countries, including the United States, to prove its achievements.

Benz Söhne, 1906–1923

Carl Benz, Bertha Benz, and their son, Eugen, moved 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) east of Mannheim to live in Ladenburg. Using only their own money, they started a private company called C. Benz Sons (German: Benz Söhne) in 1906. The company made automobiles and gas engines. Later, gas engines were replaced with petrol engines because people were not buying them.

This company did not sell shares to the public. It made its own line of automobiles separately from Benz & Cie., a company located in Mannheim. The Benz Sons automobiles were known for their quality and became popular as taxis in London.

In 1912, Carl Benz sold all his shares in Benz Sons and gave the family-owned company in Ladenburg to his sons, Eugen and Richard. However, he continued to work as a director of Benz & Cie.

On 25 November 1914, during a birthday celebration in his hometown of Karlsruhe, the 70-year-old Carl Benz received an honorary doctorate from Karlsruhe University, his old school. This made him Dr. Ing. h. c. Benz.

From the start of automobile production, racing cars became an important way for manufacturers to gain attention. Early models, like the Benz Velo, were used in races such as the Paris to Rouen race in 1894. Later, companies invested in making racecars for motorsports. This helped sell more cars because people associated the brands with race winners. At one time, a special car called the Tropfenwagen, with a mid-engine design and a teardrop-shaped body, was built. It was shown at the 1923 European Grand Prix in Monza.

In 1923, the last year of production for Benz Sons, 350 cars were made. The next year, 1924, Benz had two more 8/25 hp cars built by the company. These were made for his personal use and were never sold. They are still kept today.

Toward Daimler-Benz and the first Mercedes-Benz in 1926

The German economic crisis got worse. In 1923, Benz & Cie. made only 1,382 cars in Mannheim, and DMG produced 1,020 cars in Stuttgart. Because of high inflation, the average cost of a car was 25 million marks. Talks between the two companies began again, and in 1924, they signed an "Agreement of Mutual Interest" that lasted until the year 2000. Both companies used the same design, production methods, buying practices, sales strategies, and advertising. They sold their car models together but kept their separate brand names.

On June 28, 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG officially joined to form the Daimler-Benz company. They named all their cars Mercedes-Benz, honoring the most important model from DMG, the 1902 Mercedes 35 hp, and also using the Benz name. The name "Mercedes 35 hp" was chosen for Mercédès Jellinek, the 10-year-old daughter of Emil Jellinek. He had set the design for the car model and was on DMG’s board of management from 1900 to 1909, but he left before the merger.

Carl Benz was on the board of management for Daimler-Benz for the rest of his life. In 1926, a new logo was created. It showed a three-pointed star (symbolizing Daimler’s motto: "engines for land, air, and water") surrounded by leafy branches from the Benz logo. All cars were labeled Mercedes-Benz. Model names followed the brand name in the same way as today.

In 1927, the number of cars sold increased three times to 7,918, and a diesel engine series was introduced for trucks. In 1928, the Mercedes-Benz SSK was introduced.

On April 4, 1929, Carl Benz died at his home in Ladenburg at the age of 84 from a lung infection. Bertha Benz lived in their last home until her death on May 5, 1944. Family members lived there for 30 more years. The home is now a historic site and is used for scientific meetings by the Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation.

• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim (2015)
• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim (2015)
• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim (2015)
• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim (2015)
• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim (2015)
• The Carl Benz monument in Mannheim, in the evening (2015)

Legacy

The Carl-Benz-Gymnasium Ladenburg in Ladenburg, where he lived until his death, is named after him. The Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz in Ladenburg and the Carl-Benz-Stadion of the football club SV Waldhof Mannheim are also named in his honor. In 1984, Benz was honored by being inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame and the European Automotive Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In popular culture

In 2011, a television film that tells the story of Carl and Bertha Benz was created. The film is called "Carl & Bertha [de]." It first aired on May 11 and was broadcast by Das Erste on May 23. A short preview of the film and a special that shows how the film was made were shared on YouTube.