Carl Benz
Born, November 26, 1844, at Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany.
The early education of Carl Benz was acquired at the Lyceum until his seventeenth year and then at the Technical High School of his native city for four more years. This was followed by three years of practical work in the shops of the Karlsruhe Machine Works. When he was twenty-eight years of age, in 1872, after further experience in Mannheim, Pforzheim and Vienna, he opened workshops of his own in Mannheim.
In 1880 he began to commercialize a two-cycle stationary engine. In 1883 he organized his business as Benz & Co., and produced his first vehicle in 1884. In the beginning of 1885 his three-wheeled vehicle ran through the streets of Mannheim, Germany, attracting much attention with its noisy exhaust. This was the subject of his patent dated January 29, 1886, claimed by him to be the first German patent on a light oil motor vehicle. This embodied a horizontal flywheel belt transmission through a differential and two chains to the wheels; but it is noteworthy primarily as having embodied a four-cycle, water jacketed, three-quarter horse-power engine, with electric ignition.
In 1888, the Benz Company exhibited their vehicles at the Munich Exposition, where they attracted wide attention. This was followed by the exhibition at the Paris show in 1889, by the engineer Roger, of another vehicle made under license that Roger had acquired from Benz and constructed by Panhard and Levassor.
CARL BENZ
While in 1899 the firm was converted into a stock company of three million marks capital, and then employed three hundred men, Carl Benz remained the leading spirit of the concern, technically, while the commercial work came under the direction of Julius Ganz. The able co-operation of these two has established the world-famous automobile enterprise looked upon by many as the pioneer producing works of its kind in Germany. Of late years motor boats have also been made by them, but their automobiles and those of their affiliated companies or licensees in other countries still stand in the first rank.
Gottlieb Daimler
Born at Schorndorf, Wurtemburg, March 17, 1834. Died at Cannstadt, near Stuttgart, March 6, 1899.