Bertha Benz
The Woman behind the Automotive Revolution, A woman moves the world & A German Automotive Pioneer
The weapons of a woman.
In the early hours of a fine August day in 1888, together with her sons Richard and Eugen, and without the knowledge of her husband, Bertha Benz took to the road with the Benz Patent Motor Car. She was undeterred by the fact that some stretches of the roads, which were normally used only by horses and carriages, were anything but suitable for the automobile. Lack of fuel, clogged valves or wiring chafed through to breaking point she found a solution to every difficulty on the journey. She resorted to a garter, a hat-pin, and plundered the ligroin stocks of pharmacies along the route. Even when the fuel ran out completely outside Wiesloch, and the Motor Car had to be pushed for several kilometres, she was not too proud to get down herself and help.
In August 1888, Bertha Benz drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim with her two sons in the Patent Motor Car built by her husband Carl Benz. A few days later, she returned to Mannheim. This first long-distance trip in the history of the automobile was a pioneering undertaking. For the most part, it all ran smoothly, there were only a few minor technical problems on route, which were all solved. An original Model III Patent Motor Car, identical in construction, still exists today and is the world’ s oldest remaining Benz automobile, which dates back to 1888.
Carl Benz was a magnificent technician. In 1886, he applied for a patent for his motor car, the world’s first automobile and therefore an epoch-making innovation. However, his business acumen was not so strong. His wife Bertha bravely and enthusiastically stood by his side, she supported her husband in many ways, recognized the importance of his invention at an early stage and firmly believed that it would be a success. The only thing lacking was the definite proof that the vehicle was reliable and could also master long-distance routes.
Bertha Benz decided to go on a lengthy test drive to encourage her husband and to prove to him the capability and sustainability of his invention - albeit without telling him about it beforehand. She already had a destination for her drive in mind, Pforzheim, her place of birth.
At the beginning of August, when the school vacation began, it was time. Bertha Benz let her sons Eugen and Richard into her plan. Mother and sons carefully made their way to the factory early in the morning. They quietly pushed the vehicle out of the workshop and only started it once it was a safe distance away from the house - by turning the horizontal flywheel. As the story goes, she left a note on the kitchen table for Carl, who was still asleep, with an openly-worded message that she was on her way to Pforzheim - with not a word about the “test drive”. He later noticed that the motor car was missing and realized that his loved ones were not travelling by train.
Petrol is available from chemists
Once the three had finally got the car rolling, they realized that they did not know how to get to Pforzheim. So they decided to stick to the places and roads that they knew and initially headed towards Weinheim. In Weinheim, they headed south, to Wiesloch. “Ligroin” supplies, as petrol was known at the time, was a great source of concern, as the 4.5-liter supply in the carburetor (there was no gas tank yet) was running ominously low. Ligroin was available from chemists back then. The town pharmacy in Wiesloch, which still exists today and claims to be the world’s first gas station, was able to help them. The long-distance travelers later bought more ligroin in Langenbrücken and Bruchsal during their journey.
Cooling the engine was even more of a worry than finding fuel. The engine was cooled using the evaporation of water according to the thermosiphon system. The water supply was topped up at every opportunity, at public houses, from streams or, when there was no other choice, from a ditch. There were no punctures because the rear wheels had iron rings and the front wheel was covered in solid rubber.
Extra muscle power helps on hills
From Wiesloch, the journey continued via Bruchsal and Durlach, where it headed east, out of the Rhine Valley and into the “hills”. The one-cylinder engine’s output of around 2.5 hp (1.8 kW) at 500 rpm and its two gears were certainly not enough to conquer big gradients. Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard had to get out and push again.
Bertha Benz real name : Bertha Ringer
Born : 3rd May 1849
Nationality : German
Husband : Karl Benz
Children : 5 ( Ellen, Eugen, Thilde, Richard & Clara Benz)
Died : 5th May 1944 (aged 95)
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2 окт 2024
