History of famous car makers -- Karl Benz (Carl Benz)

Karl Benz (Carl Benz)
In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Company, the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900.

Biography
Karl Friedrich Benz was born in 1844 in Baden Muehlburg, Germany (now part of Karlsruhe). He was the son of an engine driver. Benz attended the Karlsruhe grammar school and later the Karlsruhe Polytechnic University. In 1871, He founded his first company with partner August Ritter, the "Iron Foundry and Machine Shop" a supplier of building materials.

Benz began his work on a two-stroke engine, in hopes of finding a new income. He received his first patent in 1879. In 1883, he founded Benz & Company to produce industrial engines in Mannheim, Germany. He then began designing a "motor carriage", with a four-stroke engine (based on Nicolaus Otto's patent). Benz designed his engine (958cc, 0.75hp) and the body for the three-wheel vehicle with an electric ignition, differential gears, and water-cooling. The car was first driven in Mannheim in 1885. On January 29, 1886, he was granted a patent for his gas-fueled automobile (DRP 37435) and in July, he began selling his automobile to the public.

In 1893, the Benz Velo became the world's first inexpensive, mass-produced car.

In 1903, Karl Benz retired from Benz & Company; his designs were already outdated by Gottlieb Daimler. He served as a member of the supervisory board of Daimler-Benz AG from 1926, when the company was formed, until his death.

He married Bertha Ringer in 1872, who played an active role in his business, together they had five children. Karl Benz passed away in 1929.

Accepted as the inventor of the motor car Karl Benz first unveiled his Benz 3-wheeler in 1885 at Mannheim. (Germany) The vehicle was powered by a water cooled gas engine that was driven by the vapour of ligroin, or benzine. The rear wheels received the power by a pulley and belt that were attached to a transmission shaft whilst the water cooling was by water evaporation in a jacket round the cylinder. Despite inventors like Gottlieb Daimler who worked on 4-wheeler designs, Benz stuck to a 3-wheeled design for many years producing many vehicles but in the days before tarmac roads, many common place roads consisted of two rutted tracks left by horse drawn coaches. Whilst the 4-wheeler would often run in these ruts the front wheel of a 3-wheeler was running on uneven ground creating a bumpy ride and placing great stress on the structure of the vehicle itself. Benz had initially designed his vehicle as a 3-wheeler to overcome problems with steering.

In 1888 Benz started to advertise his 3-wheeler but the public refused to buy it. It was after his family (his wife and two sons) stole the car one night and drove it from Mannheim to Pforzheim (Approximately 65 miles) that the public became fascinated by it and the Benz started to sell. From 1893 Benz then changed his vehicle to a 4-wheeled design (The Benz Viktoria). Benz then later merged with Daimler to become Daimler-Benz. or Mercedes-Benz as most people know of it today, The name "Mercedes" came from one of Daimler's business partners, Emil Jellinek. Emil Jellinek was an Austrian businessman, who had a young daughter, named "Mercedes". He was also an avid car-racer and was known among his circles as "Monsieur Mercedes". In the early 1900s, Jellinek was fascinated by the latest model cars provided by Daimler-Motoren AG, and bought a bunch of them, giving the crucial capital and exposure to different markets. He had two conditions for buying these cars from Daimler: First that he would become sole-agent in the Austrian-Hungary monarchy, France, and US, and secondly, the car would be named after his daughter, Mercedes.