Karl Benz

German automotive and engine designer and manufacturer (1844–1929)

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Germany rank#140

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Fame73.0
Momentum10.1
Germany rank#140
Scientists rank#45
Wikipedia44.8K

Lived 1844–1929, aged 85Germany

Germany ScientistsScientist

Wikipedia
111 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Germany
#140
Scientists
Era
1844–1929
Aged 85
Awards
3
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

He built the first practical automobile and then drove it in public in 1886. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen wasn't just a prototype — it was the first car put into series production, and the company that made it became the world's largest automobile plant.

Biography

About

Born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant in 1844, the German engine designer would go by Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz. In 1885 he completed the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, receiving a patent for it the following year — the same year he first took it out for a public drive. His company, Benz & Cie., operated from Mannheim and grew into the first dedicated automobile plant on earth, and the largest of its era. In 1926 it merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft to form Daimler-Benz, the maker of Mercedes-Benz. He died in 1929, widely regarded as the father of the car and of the industry that followed.

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