1844-1929
Automobile Manufacturer

Early Career. Karl Friedrich Benz was born in the then independent German state of Baden- Wurttemberg in the city of Karlsruhe, where he attended the polytechnic institute. He worked as an engineer and factory manager before founding his first firm, a machine shop, in 1871. In 1883 Benz established a company in Mannheim that produced stationary internal-combustion engines for industrial use.

Automobile Production. Benz designed and built his pioneering motor carriage at Mannheim in 1885. Patented the following year, it had three wheels and was powered by a water-cooled, two-cycle, one-cylinder engine that ran on benzine; an electrical current started the engine. Benz resisted designing a four-wheeled vehicle until 1893. The following year he introduced the Velo, the first automobile to be mass produced.

Later Career. Benz resigned from active direction of his company in 1903 in a dispute over whether the firm should build motorcycles or...