Who is karl benz

Its cc. By virtue of his patent for the Motorwagen , Benz has a solid claim to the title of inventor of the first practical, commercially available, gasoline-powered automobile. His string of innovations in key automotive components burnished his legend. And despite a rocky start in business, the companies he formed set the industry standard for quality and engineering across Europe and inspired U. Benz was raised chiefly by his mother in Karlsruhe, Germany.

His father, a locomotive driver, died in a train accident when Benz was two years old. The family was poor, but Benz's education was a priority and he excelled as a student. He was admitted to the University of Karlsruhe at age 15 and graduated in with his mechanical engineering degree. Bicycles were coming of age in the late s, and Benz was an avid rider and mechanic. It was while riding and tinkering that he first fantasized about a totally mechanized vehicle. Following a succession of unsatisfying jobs with engineering and construction firms around Germany, Benz settled in Mannheim, where he partnered with August Ritter to open his first iron foundry and sheet-metal workshop.

The business began to flounder early, but soon Benz would join forces with a new collaborator — his new wife, Bertha — who provided vital capital and a vision for success on par with his own. Karl and Bertha set up housekeeping in and the first of their five children arrived a year later.

Karl focused their factory's attention on the development of new and better engines, and he worked diligently to score new patents as a way to maximize their income.

His inventions included a throttle system, battery-powered ignition systems, spark plugs, gear shifters, carburetors, the water radiator, and the clutch. By , he was ready to put it all together in a fully gas-powered car. The Benz Patent Motorwagen's innovative features included a four-stroke engine, three wire-spoke wheels, and cozy two-passenger seating. The one critical thing missing, however, was a customer base. Imagine a time when there was no such thing as a car commercial.

When gasoline was a household cleanser sold only at the drug store. When even the best long-distance roads were rough, narrow tracks scratched out across the countryside. The public was far from sold on the need for, or practicality of, motorized transportation.

Benz's car would change all that, but not without another critical boost from Bertha. Her natural-born marketing moxie literally put the car on the road to success. It was Bertha who in illicitly appropriated a Motorwagen and drove 66 miles from Mannheim to Pforzheim to visit her mother.

Though his automotive goals were initially mocked and dismissed, Benz saw motor vehicles become a dominant mode of transportation before his death at age 84 in Cars and trucks still operate with many of Benz's inventions and innovations, and his name lives on in the car company Mercedes-Benz. His father died when he was 2, so his mother raised him. Benz enrolled at Karlsruhe Polytechnic when he was In he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Benz married his wife, Bertha, in With her support, he used her dowry to buy out an unsatisfactory partner in an early business venture.

His firm hit a rough patch but survived though tools had to be pawned to stay in business. He left that company in due to disputes with his partners. The business initially focused on stationary engines, but Benz continued to work on his dream of creating a motorcar.

In , Benz built a motorcar whose internal combustion engine was powered by gasoline. A love of bicycling had inspired his desire to create this vehicle, and his first design drew on the tricycle.

Benz's three-wheeled automobile, which he called the Motorwagen, could carry two passengers. Prior to building this car, Benz also invented several of its key components, such as the electric ignition, spark plugs, and clutch.

At the time other inventors were also trying to build or had already constructed their own versions of a "horseless carriage," but Benz's work stood out because his car was constructed around its engine, as opposed to the approach of simply adding an engine to an existing cart or carriage. Benz was granted patent No. A model of Benz's first car was made available for purchase, with the first sale taking place in The early three-wheeled car was followed by four-wheeled vehicles, which Benz began to produce in Twelve hundred units of the four-wheeled Motor Velocipede, known as the "Velo," were built between and ; it is seen as the world's first series-produced car.

However, in the s Benz vehicles were outpaced by other manufacturers, whose offerings were less expensive and delivered more horsepower. Around , Benz left his company after clashing over new designs, though he remained on its board of directors.

He started a new vehicle manufacturing business with his sons but stepped back from its management in Daimler-Benz went on to sell Mercedes-Benz vehicles the name Mercedes came from the daughter of a man who'd raced and sold Daimler automobiles. Though they lived in Germany at the same time and shared similar interests, Benz and Daimler hadn't interacted before Daimler died in Benz later stated , "I never spoke to Daimler in all my life.

Once I saw him in Berlin, from a distance. As I approached — I would have liked to have made his acquaintance — he disappeared in the crowd. Associates sometimes derided Benz's focus on making a motorized vehicle, which they considered an endeavor without potential.