Carl Benz died on 4 April 1929 in Ladenburg, aged 84. A German engineer and automobile pioneer, Benz built a single-cylinder petrol engine in the 1870s and 1880s, and in 1885 completed the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, a three-wheeled vehicle that is generally regarded as the first practical automobile. He received a patent for it in January 1886. In 1888 his wife, Bertha Benz, made the first long-distance journey by automobile, driving the car from Mannheim to Pforzheim without his knowledge, and showing the public that the new machines were reliable. His company, Benz and Cie, merged in 1926 with the company of Gottlieb Daimler to form Daimler-Benz, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars.
Before and after
- 26 February 1929Establishment of Grand Teton National Park
- 28 February 1929Birth of Frank Gehry
- 8 March 1929Birth of Hebe Camargo
- 1 April 1929Birth of Milan Kundera
- 4 April 1929Death of Carl Benz
- 4 May 1929Birth of Audrey Hepburn
- 29 May 1929Birth of Peter Higgs
- 12 June 1929Birth of Anne Frank
- 18 June 1929Birth of Jürgen Habermas
More in Science & technology
- 11 January 1922Insulin is first used to treat diabetes
- 1924Internal combustion engine
- 1925Quantum mechanics is formulated
- 1927Uncertainty principle
- 1936Alan Turing defines the universal machine
- from 1939 to 1946Manhattan Project
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.