Karl Benz

25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929

Karl Benz was a German engine designer and automotive engineer widely regarded as the inventor of the first practical automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. His 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen is considered the first true motorcar, and the company he founded, Benz & Cie., eventually merged with Daimler to form Daimler-Benz, maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Karl Benz.

Life events

Born in Mühlburg, near Karlsruhe, Germany
25 November 1844

Karl Benz was born to locomotive driver Johann Georg Benz and Josephine Vaillant.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe Polytechnic
1860 – 1864

Benz enrolled at the polytechnic university in Karlsruhe at age 15 and graduated in 1864.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Bertha Ringer
20 July 1872

Bertha Benz became an important financial and practical supporter of her husband's automotive work.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Founded Benz & Cie. in Mannheim
October 1883

Benz established Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik to produce industrial gas engines.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Filed patent for the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first practical automobile
29 January 1886

Benz applied for German patent DRP 37435 for his gasoline-powered three-wheeled motor car, often called the birth certificate of the automobile.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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First public drive of the Patent-Motorwagen in Mannheim
3 July 1886

Benz publicly demonstrated his motor car on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Bertha Benz completed the first long-distance automobile journey
c. 1888

Without her husband's knowledge, Bertha Benz drove a Patent-Motorwagen from Mannheim to Pforzheim, proving the practicality of the automobile.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Benz & Cie. merged with Daimler to form Daimler-Benz
28 June 1926

The merger created Daimler-Benz AG, whose automobiles carried the Mercedes-Benz brand; Benz served on the supervisory board.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Ladenburg, Germany
4 April 1929

Karl Benz died at his home in Ladenburg at the age of 84 from a bronchial inflammation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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