Carl Friedrich Benz (German: [kaʁl ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈbɛnts]; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant on November 25, 1844, and died on April 4, 1929) was a German engineer. He designed the first practical, modern automobile, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which was created in 1885 and was the first car made in large numbers. In 1886, he received a patent for the motorcar and publicly drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen for the first time that year.

Benz & Cie., his company located in Mannheim, was the world’s first automobile factory and the largest of its time. In 1926, the company merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz, which later produced the Mercedes-Benz and other car brands.

Because of his work, Benz is widely known as "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 part of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, which is in modern Germany. His parents were Josephine Vaillant and Johann Georg Benz, a locomotive driver. They married a few months after his birth. According to German law, Karl inherited the name "Benz" from his father’s family after their marriage. When he was two years old, his father died from pneumonia, and his name was changed to Karl Friedrich Benz to honor his father.

Although his family faced financial hardship, his 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 scientifically focused Lyceum. After finishing school, he studied at Karlsruhe’s technical school, where he was taught by Ferdinand Redtenbacher.

At first, Benz focused his studies on locksmithing. Later, he chose to follow his father’s career path in locomotive engineering. On 30 September 1860, at age 15, he passed an entrance exam to study mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe’s technical school. He attended the school and graduated on 9 July 1864, at age 19.

After finishing his education, Benz spent seven years gaining work experience at several companies. However, he found it difficult to fit in at any of them. His training began in Karlsruhe, where he worked for two years in different roles at a mechanical engineering company. He then moved to Mannheim to work as a draftsman and designer at a scales factory. In 1868, he went to Pforzheim to work for the bridge-building company 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 a business called the Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop in Mannheim. Later, the business was renamed the Factory for Machines for Sheet-metal Working.

The first year of the business was very difficult. Ritter was not trustworthy, and the tools used in the workshop were taken away. This problem was solved when Benz's fiancée, Bertha Ringer, used money she received from her family to buy Ritter's share in 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 had problems, Benz continued to develop new engines in the factory he and his wife owned. To earn more money, he began working on new inventions in 1878. He first focused on creating a reliable 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. These included a system to control engine speed, a way to start the engine using sparks from 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 become a company because of the high costs of making products. To get more support from the banks, they had to create a partnership with photographer Emil Bühler and his brother, who sold cheese. The company became a joint-stock company called Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim in 1882.

After all the agreements to make the company official, Benz was unhappy because he only received five percent of the company's shares and a smaller role as a director. The most difficult part was that his ideas were not used when designing 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-time interest in bicycles led him to a bicycle repair shop in Mannheim. The shop was owned by Max Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Eßlinger. In 1883, Benz, Rose, and Eßlinger started a new company to make industrial machines. The company was called Benz & Cie. Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik. It quickly grew to have twenty-five workers and began making static gas engines.

The company's success allowed Benz to pursue his old interest in creating a horseless carriage. Using knowledge from bicycles, he designed an automobile with wire wheels instead of wooden ones. The car had a four-stroke engine he created between the rear wheels. It used 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 "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 made the Motorwagen Model 2 with changes. In 1889, the final Model 3 with wooden wheels was introduced and shown at the Paris Expo.

Benz began selling the vehicle as "Benz Patent-Motorwagen" in late summer 1888, making it the first car available for purchase. The second buyer was Emile Roger, a Parisian bicycle maker who had used Benz engines under license. Roger added Benz cars, many built in France, to his Paris business.

The 1888 version of the Motorwagen had only two gears and could not climb hills without help. This problem was fixed after Bertha Benz drove a long distance and suggested adding a third gear. During this trip, she also created 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. She traveled with her sons, Eugen and Richard. During the trip, she had to find pharmacies to add fuel and fix technical problems. One problem involved 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 sent a telegram to her husband, Karl, to share the news. Her goal was to show that the Benz Motorwagen could be used for travel and to create publicity, 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. This route follows the path of Bertha's 1888 journey. The public can now travel 194 kilometers (121 miles) along a marked route from Mannheim through Heidelberg to Pforzheim (Black Forest) and back. The return trip did not go through Heidelberg and was slightly shorter, as shown on maps of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route.

Benz's Model 3 was introduced to the public in 1889 at the World's Fair in Paris. Between 1886 and 1893, about twenty-five Motorwagens were built.

Benz and Cie. expansion

Because many people wanted static internal combustion engines, Benz needed to expand the factory in Mannheim. In 1886, a new building on Waldhofstrasse was added and operated until 1908. Benz & Cie. grew quickly, increasing from 50 employees in 1889 to 430 in 1899.

At the end of the 1800s, Benz was the largest automobile company in the world, producing 572 units in 1899. Due to its size, Benz & Cie. became a joint-stock company in 1899. Friedrich von Fischer and Julius Ganß joined the company as members of the Board of Management. Ganß worked in the commercialization department, which is similar to marketing in modern businesses.

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

From 1894 to 1902, Benz produced over 1,200 units of the Velocipede, later known as the Benz Velo. Early models had a 1L engine with 1.5 metric horsepower, and later models had a 3-metric-horsepower engine. These cars could reach speeds of 19 km/h (12 mph).

The Velo took part in the first automobile race, the 1894 Paris to Rouen race. Émile Roger finished 14th, completing the 126 km (78 mi) course 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 arranged horizontally. This design balanced the engine’s movement and is still used today by companies like Porsche, Subaru, and BMW.

Although Gottlieb Daimler died in March 1900, there is no evidence that Benz and Daimler knew each other or about each other’s work. Competition with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in Stuttgart began to challenge Benz & Cie. In 1900, Wilhelm Maybach, DMG’s main designer, built the engine later used in the Mercedes-35hp of 1902. The engine was named "Daimler-Mercedes" after Maybach’s client, Emil Jellinek, who also became a dealer for the vehicle.

Benz responded by introducing the Parsifal in 1903, a car with a vertical twin engine that reached speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph). Later, without consulting Benz, company directors 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 Board of Management until the company merged with DMG in 1926. He stayed on the board of the new Daimler-Benz corporation 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, the company sold 3,480 automobiles and remained the leading automobile manufacturer.

Benz also founded another company, C. Benz Söhne, with his son Eugen. This family-owned company produced automobiles and used the name "Carl" for its brand.

In 1909, Benz & Cie. built the Blitzen Benz in Mannheim. The car had a 21.5-liter (1312ci) engine with 150 kW (200 hp). On 9 November 1909, French racer Victor Hémery drove the Blitzen Benz at Brooklands, achieving a speed of 226.91 km/h (141.00 mph). This record was unmatched for ten years and was celebrated in many countries, including the United States.

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. This company made automobiles and gas engines. Later, gas engines were replaced by petrol engines because people wanted them less.

This company did not sell shares to the public. It made its own line of automobiles separately from another company called Benz & Cie., which was in Mannheim. The Benz Sons automobiles were high quality and became popular in London as taxis.

In 1912, Carl Benz sold all his shares in Benz Sons. He gave the company in Ladenburg to his sons, Eugen and Richard, but he stayed 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. This made him Dr. Ing. h. c. Benz.

From the early days of automobile production, racing cars became an important way for manufacturers to gain attention. At first, regular production models were raced. The Benz Velo took part in the first automobile race, Paris to Rouen in 1894. Later, companies invested in making special race cars for motorsports. This helped sell more cars because people associated the car’s name with race winners. One unique car built at the time was the Tropfenwagen, a "teardrop" shaped car with an engine in the middle. 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, in 1924, Carl Benz built two more 8/25 hp cars from this company. He made them for his own use and never sold them. These cars 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 made 1,020 cars in Stuttgart. Because of fast inflation, the average cost of a car was 25 million marks. Talks between the two companies started again, and in 1924, they signed an "Agreement of Mutual Interest" that lasted until the year 2000. Both companies made their designs, production, buying, selling, and advertising the same, but they kept their own brand names.

On June 28, 1926, Benz & Cie. and DMG officially joined to form the Daimler-Benz company. All of their cars were named Mercedes-Benz, honoring the most important model from DMG, the 1902 Mercedes 35 hp, and also the Benz name. The name "Mercedes 35 hp" was chosen in honor of Mercédès Jellinek, the 10-year-old daughter of Emil Jellinek, who had helped design the car. Emil Jellinek was on DMG's board of management from 1900 to 1909 but left before the merger.

Carl Benz was on the new Daimler-Benz board of management for the rest of his life. In 1926, a new logo was created. It had a three-pointed star (symbolizing Daimler's motto: "engines for land, air, and water") surrounded by laurels from the Benz logo. All cars were labeled Mercedes-Benz. From then on, 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 the diesel line was introduced for trucks. In 1928, the Mercedes-Benz SSK was released.

On April 4, 1929, Carl Benz died at his home in Ladenburg at age 84 from bronchial inflammation. Bertha Benz lived in their last home until her death on May 5, 1944. Family members lived there for 30 more years. Today, the home is 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 he passed away, 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 added to the Automotive Hall of Fame and the European Automotive Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was added to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

In popular culture

In 2011, a story-based television film about Carl and Bertha Benz was created and called Carl & Bertha [de]. The film first showed on 11 May and was broadcast by Das Erste on 23 May. A preview of the film and a special that explains how the film was made were shared on YouTube.