Karl+Friedrich+Benz

**Introduction** “Only one person stood steadfastly by me, my wife. She bravely set new sails of hope” (Hyde). Usually, people believe that an American, Henry Ford, first built the automobile but in reality it was a German man named Karl Benz. Benz invented the first gasoline-powered car in 1886, which sold like crazy (Jeanes). Benz had many obstacles in inventing the car but made it through with the help of his wife Bertha (Edwards).

Karl Benz a German born in Muhlburg in 1844. Only his mother raised Karl after his father died in a train crash when he was only 2 years old. Karl’s family was very poor but his priority was at school. He excelled at as a student and attended the University of Karlsruhe at the age of 15 years old (MacRae). Nowadays 15 year olds are usually sophomores’ in high school. Benz graduated with a mechanical engineering degree after a couple of years (MacRae). Benz was an active bike rider and that's when he began to fantasize about a mechanical vehicle (MacRae). His first manufacturing business failed as well as his second (Jeanes). Later on Karl found the best partner of all, his wife Bertha. She helped him through everything in the business. As time went on Karl and Bertha had 5 children (MacRae).
 * Personal Background**

His wife, Bertha helped Karl through everything. She financed the whole operation. Bertha, also advertised the car with a road trip that was 66 miles long (McAleer). With her journey Karl was able to make the car safer by adding brake, and an additional gear for uphills. Today we celebrate every two years the famous road trip (MacRae). Karl started out very poor and without a father but made it through. He wouldn't have made as far as he did if it wasn't for his wife. Because of Karl Benz, transportation today is very easy. Karl Benz died in April 1929. With his contribution in the automobile industry, that is still used today by many car factories (MacRae).

Karl Benz’s mother taught him to be very respectful to everyone. All of his live Benz was a sweet and loving boy because of his mother. After his fathers death he helped his family get through it. As soon as he was old enough he got a job and gave the income to his mother (MacRae). Kids today are spoiled and ungrateful. Back in the days the children couldn't go to school because they had to work. But Benz got his education and succeeded (MacRae).
 * Personality Traits **

Benz was a very intelligent boy. He went to college at the age of 15 (MacRae). One thing his mother did not teach him was not to quit. When Karl’s first manufacturing business failed he wanted to give (McAleer). If Karl had quitted, today we would probably have trouble transporting. He would have stopped but his wife Bertha pushed him forward (Edwards). She helped him financially and also gave him her ideas, which made the car better. Although Benz was very respectful and kind he was a quitter that could have cost us in the future (MacRae).

** Obstacles ** In the past when innovators tried developing inventions they came across a lot of problems because they had little resources and unprepared technology. One of the men that struggled with this was Karl Benz. He had little to work with and received little help (MacRae). Benz’s first and second manufacturing businesses failed which was with a photographer and cheese merchant (Jeanes). His obstacles were not just physical; he also had issues with himself wanting to quit. He wanted to quit because he felt as if he was going nowhere. Luckily his wife Bertha helped him through those issues (MacRae).

Not only did Karl struggle with himself but with the car. The car he invented had many problems. It only contained 2/3 of one horsepower meaning the car would not go up hills because it could not build up the power necessary to do so. Its maximum speed was an average of 8mph (Edwards). Which is nothing compared to how nowadays the average car drives 65 mph on the freeway. Benz also had various competitions with other car inventors of the day. Daimler, Karl’s biggest competition, later joined Benz and created the car brand of the day Mercedes-Benz (MacRae). Karl’s biggest obstacle was not having the money to invest on developing the car. If it were not for his wife who helped him economically he wouldn't have made a successful car. All in all, without Karl Benz, the father of the automobile, we wouldn't have the modern car today (Edwards).

On January 29, 1886 was the birthdate of the first automobile invented by Karl Benz. Not only did he only invent the car but everything that has to do with one for example a fueling station and the first road trip. Although the car had many bugs in it Benz always found a way to innovate the car to improve it. In 1899, Karl manufactured and sold over 500 automobiles, which was far more than he had ever sold before. We are lucky Benz got as far as he did. The reason for was because both of his past manufacturing businesses had failed so he lost hope in himself (Jeanes). Luckily his wife Bertha pushed him through to create a long lasting innovation that is used today (MacRae).
 * Historical Significance**

It was difficult for Karl to sell his cars because no one knew about them. That is where his wife Bertha came in the picture and did her role. The way she advertised the car was by having a 200km road trip to her mothers’ house (Edwards). Today the famous road trip is celebrated every two years with an antique car rally along the same stretch of highway (MacRae). By actually testing the car on the road tip Karl was able to innovate it into a better functioning machine. He added leather padding for brakes and a new rack and pinion to have more stability and control of the car (Edwards).

In the early 1920s Karl was not the only car enthusiast trying to invent the automobile. There was a man named Daimler who had a tight competition with Karl in inventing the car. Daimler, his competition was the inventor of the Mercedes engine and car. Since they were the top producers of cars they decided to join companies. The Daimler-Benz Company was formed in 1926. Later they changed the company name to Mercedes-Benz and produced cars together. Today the Mercedes is one of the top produced car and most reliable to drive and have (MacRae).

Today most people don't even know the name of the person that made their life easier. We should be thankful of Karl Benz for inventing the car. He made our lives easier for us. If it weren’t for him, today people would have trouble traveling. Most people today don't know that it was difficult for him because there was such little machinery to work with (MacRae).

Alyn Edwards ; Vancouver Sun "The evolution of the three-wheleer; From the Benz Motorwagen to the Polaris Slingshot, motorized trikes have a colorful history." //Vancouver Sun//. 29 Aug. 2014: E8. //elibrary//. Wed. 18 Nov. 2014. **SE #5** Jeanes, William "CELEBRATING AMERICA'S 125-YEAR LOVE AFFAIR WITH CARS." //Saturday Evening Post//. 01 may. 2011: 30. //elibrary//. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. **SE #4** Larkin, Leah "Germany"s Auto Pioneer's - Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz." //German Life//. 01 Feb. 2008: 35. //elibrary//. Web. 17 Sep. 2014. **SE #1** MacRae, Michael ** " ** Karl Benz Biography." Apr. 2012. //ASME.// Web. 5 Mar. 2015. McAleer Brendan ; Ottawa Citizen "Three's still a crowd here; The long, odd history of the motorized tricycle - from deltas to tadpoles." // Ottawa Citizen //. 22 Aug. 2014: D6. // elibrary //. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. ** SE #6 **
 * Reference **

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