Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler
1834-1900
German Mechanical Engineer
German mechanical engineer Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler was born on March 17, 1834, in Schorndorf, Wurttemberg, Germany. He was an obviously gifted youngster, and his father arranged for him to enter into a prestigious, classical education. His report cards soon showed that he was little attracted to such subjects as Latin but showed great aptitude for subjects like geometry. He persuaded his parents to let him change his scholastic endeavors toward the technical side.
Young Daimler's first job was in the foundry of a gunsmith's factory. He was very proficient atthis hot, dirty work but soon found it lacking. He enrolled at a technical institute. While most engineering students were then busy trying to exploit and improve the power of steam engines, Daimler was looking for a different type of engine all together.
Gottlieb Daimler. (The Library of Congress. Reproduced by permission.)After visiting France and England, including the 1862 London World Fair, Daimler was exposed to the latest European engineering advances. He took a job at the mills of an old family friend where he devised systems, tools, and power units to mechanize the old factory. Later, he joined (as senior engineer) the Karsruhe Engineering Works, where Karl Benz (1844-1929) had labored earlier. Here, he hired Wilhelm Maybach (1946-1929), who helped Daimler modify the Otto Atmospheric Engine, considered the premier engine of the time.
The two continued to work together when Daimler became technical director of the Deutz Engine Works, owned by Nikolaus A. Otto (1832-1891) and Eugen Langen (1833-1895). They made many advances, but were not satisfied with the still-heavy, slow-revving stationary engines. Daimler's vision was of a light, high-speed engine that could run on benzene.
In 1882, Daimler established his own business in Cannstatt. Maybach followed his boss to the new factory. Here, they designed a new high-speed internal combustion engine that usedgasoline as fuel. Three years later, in 1885, Daimler installed one of his engines on a bicycle he had designed. This resulted in a motorcycle remarkably similar to the modern one. Shortly thereafter, the Daimler engine was installed in boats, tram cars, and a dirigible. It wasn't long before this new engine was installed in a four-wheeled vehicle (1889). In 1900, one of the most significantly advanced cars ever produced was developed by Maybach and Daimler's son, Paul. Unfortunately, the construction of the first Mercedes, as it was called (after the daughter of Daimler's sales agent on the French Riviera), came too late for Gottlieb Daimler to see. He died on March 6, 1900, in Cannstatt.
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