Bertha Benz-'Setting Sails of Hope'

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Wikipedia:

Bertha Benz (née Ringer) was born on 3 May 1849 in Pforzheim, Germany.

She married inventor Karl Benz on 20 July 1872, and died 5 May 1944 in Ladenburg.

She invested in Benz's business in 1871, enabling him to develop the first patented automobile, and in 1888 she was the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance. In doing so she brought the Benz Patent-Motorwagen worldwide attention and got the company its first sales.




In 1871 she invested in the workshop of her fiancé, Carl Benz, making it possible to go on with a long and expensive developing process. As an unmarried woman she was able to do so. Later, when they married, however, according to the law in those days, Bertha lost her juridical power to act.

On July 20, 1872, Bertha Ringer married Carl Benz. Together they had five children: Eugen (1873), Richard (1874), Clara (1877), Thilde (1882), and Ellen (1890).

On August 5 1888, without telling her husband and without permission of the authorities, Benz drove with her sons Richard and Eugen, thirteen and fifteen years old, in one of the newly-constructed Patent Motorwagen automobiles—from Mannheim to Pforzheim—becoming the first person to drive an automobile over a real distance. Motorized drives before this historic trip were merely very short trial drives with mechanical assistants. This pioneering tour had a one-way distance of about 106 km (66 mi).

Although the ostensible purpose of the trip was to visit her mother, Bertha Benz had other motives: to prove her husband—who had failed to consider marketing his invention adequately—that the automobile they both heavily invested in, would become a financial success once it was shown to be useful to the general public; and to give her husband the confidence that his constructions had a future.

On the way, she solved numerous problems. She had to find ligroin as a fuel, which was available only at apothecary shops so she stopped in Wiesloch at the city pharmacy to purchase the fuel. A blacksmith had to help mend a chain at one point. Brakes needed to be repaired, in doing so Bertha Benz invented brake lining. She also had to use a long, straight hairpin to clean a fuel pipe, which had become blocked, and to insulate a wire with a garter.

She left Mannheim around dawn and reached Pforzheim somewhat after dusk, notifying her husband of her successful journey by telegram. She drove back to Mannheim the next day.


Along the way, several people were frightened by the automobile and the novel trip received a great deal of publicity—as she had sought. The drive was a key event in the technical development of the automobile.

The pioneering couple was able to introduce several improvements after Bertha's experiences, she reported everything that had happened along the way—and made important suggestions, such as the introduction of an additional gear for climbing hills and brake linings to improve brake-power.

In 1944, on her ninety-fifth birthday, Bertha Benz was honoured with the title, Honourable Senator, by the Technical University of Karlsruhe. This is the alma mater of her husband and they had awarded an honorary doctorate degree to him in his lifetime.





Two days later Bertha Benz died in her villa in Ladenburg, where the workshop of Carl Benz was built after they had moved there in 1906 and he established a solely family-held business, Benz and Sons..

Carl & Bertha Benz - The Car is Born - Trailer


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From the Mercedes-Benz site:

http://www.mercedes-benz-classic.com/co ... _benz.html

A strong personality




Bertha Ringer was born in Pforzheim on May 3, 1849 and married Carl Benz at the age of 23 on July 20, 1872.

Time and again, women have made a major contribution to the successful life’s work of their famous husbands. One of these was without doubt Bertha Benz.

Without her determination and unwavering belief in her husband’s success, the company Benz & Cie. would more than likely never have existed.

Bertha Benz gave her husband the will to continue when the ingenious inventor and designer was plagued by severe setbacks and self-doubt concerning the life’s work to which he had devoted himself. Thanks to her unshakable optimism and an ability to analyze difficult situations with great accuracy, she always managed to find a way out.

While they were still engaged to be married, when Karl Benz had been placed in an almost hopeless financial situation by his business partner August Ritter, she immediately came to a selfless decision which ensured the commercial survival of Carl Benz: without hesitation she arranged for her dowry to be paid out in advance. This sum was just enough to pay the debts and buy out the business partner, so that they could make all future decisions themselves.

A woman of action




Thanks to the absolute confidence of Bertha Benz in her husband and his invention, Carl Benz continued his work regardless of repeated setbacks. On January 29, 1886 his efforts were crowned with success: Carl Benz filed a patent application for his three-wheeled "vehicle powered by a gas engine".

Bertha Benz made a very large contribution to this major advance in personal mobility. Patent specification DRP 37435 is seen as the birth certificate of the automobile.

Carl Benz built further versions of his Patent Motor Car with detailed improvements. Although its invention had been mainly received with enthusiasm by the public, this was not accompanied by the desired commercial success, however. Benz was once again beset by doubts. And once again it was his wife who found a way out. She realized that the public were still skeptical about the reliability of this vehicle moved by "mysterious forces". So Bertha Benz found the answer: the first publicity tour.

This is a fantastic story:

The secret journey




Bertha Benz resolutely took the driving seat of the Patent Motor Car herself. She was convinced that the day-to-day reliability of the new vehicle needed to be physically demonstrated to the public.
Without her husband’s knowledge, Bertha Benz therefore embarked on a publicity tour in the early hours of an August day in 1888. Accompanied by her two sons Eugen (15) and Richard (14), she drove one of her husband’s three-wheelers from Mannheim to Pforzheim.

When dusk fell this intrepid trio had reached its destination without incident. She informed Carl Benz by telegram that the first long-distance journey with his Patent Motor Car had been a success. News of this sensational event spread like wildfire: two young boys and a woman on a hissing, thumping horseless carriage – this could only be the work of the Devil himself, some said. But Bertha Benz had achieved what she set out to do: the critics had at least been silenced where reliability was concerned, and everybody was talking about the Benz Patent Motor Car. Without the commitment and resolution of Bertha Benz, the automobile would undoubtedly have had a slightly more difficult journey into the future.

Karl Benz later wrote the following in his memoirs: "Only one person remained with me in the small ship of life when it seemed destined to sink. That was my wife. Bravely and resolutely she set the new sails of hope."

On May 5, 1944, two days after her 95th birthday, Bertha Benz died in Ladenburg, the family’s last place of residence.

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So sounding like husband K/Carl is an Engineer Rational, sounding Modeler, the Inventor.

Carl Benz was born in Karlsruhe on November 25, 1844, the son of an engine driver. His father died just two years after Carl’s birth. Despite her limited financial means, his mother ensured that he received a good education.

Carl Benz attended high school, then studied at the Polytechnic College in Karlsruhe. This was followed by two years of practical study at Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft in Karlsruhe. Carl Benz was given his first paid employment as a technical draughtsman and designer by a manufacturer of weighing machines in Mannheim. On losing this position in 1868 he joined an engineering company which was primarily involved in bridge-building. This employment was followed by a short period in Vienna, likewise with a structural ironworking company.

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They ended up having 5 children.

More from Benz site, about earlier days:

At first business was very poor for Carl Benz. Some of the tools were even pawned in his Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop, later also named a Factory for Metalworking Machinery. In the search for new business Karl Benz intensively devoted himself to two-stroke engines during this time. After two years of development time, the first engine ran satisfactorily in 1879. This engine was built on the two-stroke principle, as a patent for the four-stroke engine had already been granted to Gasmotorenfabrik in Deutz in 1877. Benz was also granted several basic patents for the further development of his two-stroke engine, e.g. for the engine speed regulation system. Ignition was by means of his newly developed battery system.

With new sponsors and partners as well as the support of the banks, the couple converted the business into a joint stock company named Gasmotoren-Fabrik Mannheim in 1882. Karl Benz only held a five-percent share of the company himself, however. When the other partners attempted to influence his designs, Carl Benz left the only recently formed company in 1883.

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.....he was now able to devote himself to the development of his automotive engine. Financially secure, he began on the overall design of a vehicle equipped with an integral four-stroke gasoline engine. In contrast, his competitor Daimler installed his first engine in a coach. In 1886 Carl Benz was granted a patent for his vehicle and presented the first Benz Patent Motor Car to the public.

Three versions of this three-wheeler were created between 1885 and 1887: Model No. 1, which Benz presented to the German Museum as a gift in 1906, Model No. 2, which was presumably modified and redesigned several times, and finally Model No. 3 with wood-spoked wheels, which Bertha Benz used for her first long-distance journey in 1888.

...Benz left the company because the management had summoned a group of French design engineers to the Mannheim factory to counter developments by its rival Mercedes. This resulted in internal wrangles and the resignation of Karl Benz.

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Visiting her mother:

early August 1888 – the exact date is no longer known, unfortunately, although August 5 is often incorrectly mentioned – Bertha Benz and her sons Richard and Eugen were planning on visiting Bertha's mother in Pforzheim as a surprise.

She herself told later:

"But Carl would never have allowed that. So, the two 13- and 15-year-old boys and I hatched a real conspiracy. We left early in the morning and had already traveled a couple of hours before daddy woke up."


The vehicle she used was model no. 3, rather than the patented motor car no. 1 that has been incorrectly depicted so often. The reason was that model no. 3 had an additional front bench offering quite enough room for three persons.

At that time, Dr. Carl Benz had already been granted a patent for his invention, the automobile, but potential customers still maintained many reservations because so far, the automobile had only covered very short distances. The Mannheim newspapers had already published reports about the carriage without horses, which were not too positive, though. At that time, Benz' automobiles simply did not sell yet.

This whole situation changed abruptly after the successful trip undertaken by Bertha Benz. The press now covered this event by detailed, positive reports, this great invention was on everyone's lips, and Dr. Carl Benz received invitations from all over the world.

Bertha Benz told later, "So I was the first one to show that 'daddy's' automobile was also good for long distances."

In return, Carl Benz had to admit, "She was much more courageous than me, and went on a decisive trip for the further development of the motor carriage."

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Challenges Bertha Benz had to overcome during her first long-distance trip:

-Streets in the modern sense did not exist. In the country, you only had field tracks many of which had two deep ruts from the wheels of the horse carriages, with the front wheel of the three-wheeled motor car bumping over the turf ruined by the horses' hooves.

-In the towns, the situation was a little better, because the big streets were normally paved.

-No road signs, local coachmen commuting between the towns knew their way. The passengers in the coaches were usually busy holding on to something, were longing for the end of the tiresome trip, and hardly had any orientation through the side windows. At that time, when people had to travel long distances they normally preferred going by train.

-The solution intrepid Bertha Benz found for her problem, on the automobile, she went along the railway lines, and could not lose her way.

-Carl Benz had only been able to estimate the fuel consumption of his automobile because he had only driven short distances on paved roads, he misestimated greatly, because given the road conditions, the motor car needed so much fuel that it had to be refilled after a few kilometers, yet fuel stations did not exist.

-Bertha obtained Ligroin, a detergent used as a fuel at that time, in the Wiesloch pharmacy. Thus, the pharmacy in Wiesloch, which still exists today, became the world's first filling station.

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Bertha Benz played an extremely active role in the history of the automobile, Benz not only constantly strengthened her husband's resolve, encouraged him when he was on the verge of giving up in the face of seemingly insoluble problems, or was a good ear for constructive discussions, but also used her dowry to support her husband's plans.

She was instrumental in further development of the automobile. After the first long trip (and first endurance test) with the Benz Patent Motor Car from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in August 1888, she knew as driver what definitely had to be improved. One thing the vehicle needed was an additional gear for hills, as Carl Benz recalls in his memoirs, which were transcribed by his son-in-law rather than Benz himself: "And the moral of the story was:

'The engine is too weak for mountain tours.' So the engineer gladly accepted the proposal and fitted a third gear for uphill travel."

-Bertha Benz 'drove by ear'- if a chain had extended and now quite audibly missed individual teeth of the gears, they had to go to the blacksmith's in Bruchsal who fixed the chain.

-Bertha, later and after the trip coolly described her 'on the road' repairs also:

"The first time, the fuel line was clogged – my hairpin turned out to be helpful there. The second time the ignition was broken. I used my garter to fix it."

-Bertha gave her son's opportunity to do some of the driving too.

-For the return trip, she had to get her automobile fixed again because of all the uphill and downhill routes between Pforzheim and Bauschlott (Neulingen). Later, she herself wrote:

"I will never forget the bit from Pforzheim to Bauschlott in my lifetime. For in Bauschlott, the shoemaker had to fit new leather to the brake blocks, after we had to push the vehicle several times before. When we left Bauschlott, things went relatively smooth again until we reached Bretten."

The shoemaker's name was Karl Bitsch, and he lived in what is the building located on Pforzheimer Strasse 18 today; he nailed the leather on the brake blocks for the courageous lady in front of the "Adler" guesthouse.

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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.