Karl Friedrich Benz

Karl Friedrich Benz was a German mechanical engineer who designed and built the world's first practical automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine. He obtained a patent for his invention in 1886 and founded Benz & Cie., the first automobile company, in 1883. He also developed several other innovations, such as the differential gear, the spark plug, the clutch, and the water radiator. He was a pioneer of the automotive industry and is widely regarded as the father of the car. He married Bertha Ringer in 1872 and had five children with her. She was a supportive partner who helped him financially and technically. She also became the first person to drive a car over a long distance in 1888, demonstrating its feasibility and promoting its publicity. Benz retired from his company in 1903 but remained on the board of directors until 1926, when it merged with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz, the producer of Mercedes-Benz cars. He died in 1929 at the age of 84 in his home in Ladenburg, where he had moved in 1906. He was buried in the local cemetery with his wife, who died in 1944. His legacy lives on in the automotive industry and in the history of technology.