Posted on 08/05/2012 3:44:25 AM PDT by PieterCasparzen
In 1886, Dr Carl Benz invented the automobile in Mannheim (Reich Patent No. 37435) - but nobody wanted to buy it.
But when Bertha Benz, his wife, went with her 13- and 15-year-old sons on a long-distance trip in 1888 from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back - without her husband's knowledge - to prove that the horseless coach was absolutely suitable for daily use, it became a huge success with almost a billion drivers worldwide today!
(Excerpt) Read more at bertha-benz.de ...
While she was Karl's fiancee (when they were young), she actually invested her dowry money into the business to keep it afloat.
Wikipedia has a story on her at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz.
I wonder is Cherokee Elizabeth Warren and Obama ever read this story?
This isn’t your typical “behind every great man there is a woman” story where we gush over some famous guy’s wife who did little more than cheer him on. No. Bertha Benz, all on her own, was an amazing individual and without question deserves the title of “Mother of the Automobile”.
When Bertha was 10, she found out her father had wished she was a boy. Carrying that with her, she had little regard for what was expected of her as a woman. Coming from wealth, she was expected to become the prize of a wealthy, white-collar husband. Instead, Bertha had eyes for a young man who liked to get his hands dirty, Karl Benz.
Karl was an engine designer who dreamed of building something called a “horseless carriage”. Held back by an unreliable business partner, Karl had the genius but not the means. He was educated, but he had grown up in poverty. What Karl did have though was a fiancee, and she was not the type to sit down when the world stood in the way of Karl and his dream.
Had Karl Benz invented his motorwagen today, under current German law it would have been Bertha’s name on the patent, because she funded it.
Approaching her father, Bertha managed to acquire her dowry early. She then used that money to buy out Karl’s partner and pay for the development of Karl’s motorwagen. So yes, the invention of the automobile was funded by a woman using her dowry. At the time, other inventors were exploring a similar path. Karl Benz simply got there first. Without Bertha’s help, it’s unlikely that would have happened.
And we haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.
Karl invented his motorwagen, and further developed it. Unfortunately, nobody wanted one. The motorwagen was a curiosity. Gasoline was sold primarily by pharmacies as a cleaning product. Worst of all though, Karl’s invention simply wasn’t seen as a viable method for everyday travel. Local authorities deemed the motorwagen as unsafe for roads. Someone might be crushed beneath its wheels. Karl was falling to despair. His business was failing. He had achieved his dream, but it didn’t matter. Then, on one fateful morning before dawn, Bertha did what was needed. She borrowed her husband’s car.
Without Karl’s knowledge, Bertha gathered up their two oldest children and took off with the car. The motorwagen had been thoroughly tested for driving around town, but that’s not where Bertha was going. She was off to visit her mother… 65 miles away.
The fuel tank only held enough gas for 12 miles. The first pharmacy she stopped at still exists, and to this day is considered the world’s first gas station. Bertha hired a blacksmith at one point to service a chain. She also invented the brake pad when she hired a cobbler to nail leather over the brakes.
Shortly after dusk, Bertha Benz arrived at her mother’s and sent a telegram to her husband. The motorwagen was viable. She had proven it beyond doubt. After all, if a woman with two children could use it, couldn’t everyone? Karl had failed to acknowledge the value of marketing. Fortunately from him, his wife knew better. The next day, Bertha did one more thing to extinguish any lingering doubt, she drove the car home.
As far as I’m personally concerned, Bertha’s drive made her the world’s first test driver. Sure, there had been plenty of short drives within walking distance of the factory, but Bertha Benz was the first person to really put the motorwagen through its paces. (All while the engineer stayed safely inside.) That sounds like a test driver to me. One could also say she was the first PR rep for the automotive industry.
Today, Bertha’s route has been memorialized and hosts a vintage rally. One can only wonder what she would have thought seeing a Mercedes-Benz SLS travelling those roads today. Many credit Karl Benz as the father of the automobile. We mustn’t forget though, that it also had a mother.
—And a woman shall lead them.
Where have I heard that before—LOL!
Uh, no. The inventor is always named as such on a German patent, by law. But someone other than the inventor may be the applicant (unlike in the US, where the inventor is *always* also the applicant). But that is a matter of private contract, not the law.
Other than that, great story.
Thanks for your post and the additional link. I had already put the original link for this thread on my FB pages, and now I added the additional link you gave us in my own comment to my FB post.
It’s a great story, and a great piece of “the history of the modern age”.
Dieter Zetsche (L), CEO of Daimler SE, and Jutta Benz, great-great-granddaughter of Bertha Benz, ride a replica of the 'Benz Patent Motorwagen III' dating 1888 at the press day to the 78th International Motor Show Geneva, Switzerland, 04 March 2008. Some 260 exhibitors from 30 nations showcase on 77,550 square metres their latest developments at the 78th International Motor Show Geneva running from 06 through 16 March. EPA/MARIJAN MURAT
Wonder if her kids were anything like mine....not yet on the freeway ...*Mom, I have to go to the bathroom* *bad*...or [we’re still in the driveway]...*Are we there yet?*
Wonder if either of her boys declared *Shotgun!*
thanks for your addition to this story - added as my comment number 3 on my FB post of the story
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