Karl Benz | |
---|---|
Born |
Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant 25 November 1844 Mühlburg (Karlsruhe), German Confederation |
Died | 4 April 1929 Ladenburg, Germany |
(aged 84)
Resting place | Cemetery of Ladenburg |
Nationality | German |
Education | University of Karlsruhe |
Spouse(s) | Bertha Ringer |
Children | 5, Eugen, Richard, Clara, Thilde, Ellen |
Parent(s) | Johann George Benz (father), Josephine Vaillant (mother) |
Engineering career | |
Projects | founded Fabrik für Maschinen zur Blechbearbeitung, Gasmotorenfabrik in Mannheim A. G, Benz & Cie |
Significant design | Benz Patent Motorwagen |
Significant advance | Petroleum-powered automobile |
Signature | |
Karl Friedrich Benz (German: [kaɐ̯l ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈbɛnts] listen ; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automobile engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical motorcar. He received a patent for the Motorcar on 29 January 1886.
Karl Benz was born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant, on 25 November 1844 in Mühlburg, now a borough of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, which is part of modern Germany, to Josephine Vaillant and a locomotive driver, Johann George Benz, whom she married a few months later. According to German law, the child acquired the name "Benz" by legal marriage of his parents Benz and Vaillant. When he was two years old, his father died of pneumonia, and his name was changed to Karl Friedrich Benz in remembrance of his father.
Despite living in near poverty, his mother strove to give him a good education. Benz attended the local Grammar School in Karlsruhe and was a prodigious student. In 1853, at the age of nine he started at the scientifically oriented Lyceum. Next he studied at the Poly-Technical University under the instruction of Ferdinand Redtenbacher.
Benz had originally focused his studies on locksmithing, but he eventually followed his father's steps toward locomotive engineering. On 30 September 1860, at age 15, he passed the entrance exam for mechanical engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, which he subsequently attended. Benz graduated 9 July 1864 aged 19.