Bertha Benz

06 March 2026

Bertha Benz was born in 1849 as the third of nine children. She met engineer Karl Benz in 1869 and invested her dowry in his business. Karl Benz designed the Motorwagen, which was patented 140 years ago in 1886.

To dispel the doubters of the Motorwagen in August 1888 Bertha Benz drove 106 km with her two sons to see her mother. In doing so, she proved the car was roadworthy and ultimately fuelled the success of the business and the first motorcar.

"She was more daring than I," Karl Benz said about his wife.

When the public were still sceptical about the new horseless carriage that was moved by "mysterious" forces, the press had scoffed at it and the church called it the work of the devil, Bertha took a snap decision and embarked on a difficult journey to Pforzheim with her two young teenage sons Eugen and Richard.

She had been financier, engineer, and test driver during the development of the Motorwagen - then Bertha became the first person to drive a horseless carriage long distance, and all this before dawn on Sunday the 5th of August 1888.

Bertha left a simple, truthful note for sleeping Karl - it said, “we have gone to visit my mother in Pforzheim.”

It will be several hours before Karl realises that they have not taken the train.

The Benz required regular water refills for cooling, and returning 25 mpg with a 1.3 gallon tank meant that inevitably Bertha would have to make stops for fuel, but unfortunately petrol stations have yet to be invented.

Twenty miles from Mannheim, Bertha brought her “devil’s machine” to a halt in the village of Wiesloch. She banged on doors and asked the apothecary for his entire supply of Ligroin - a petroleum used for cleaning.

The pharmacist thought worried Bertha would poison her horses with the Ligroin .

Later in the journey Bertha became aware that the wooden blocks that functioned as the Benz’s brakes were wearing significantly. In the next village she stopped and sought out the local shoemaker. She instructed him to tack leather patches to the wood blocks, to function as a friction material - in doing so Bertha Benz created the first brake linings.

Uphill sections required young Richard to drive, while Bertha and Eugen pushed the machine. Later versions of the Benz would have different gearing to help hill climbing.

A blocked fuel line was cleared with Bertha’s hat pin - a frayed ignition lead insulated with her garter.

Finally, they arrived safely at her mother’s home in Pforzheim, a safe arrival to her mother’s house - and a frantic telegram from Carl.

Relieved to hear of their safe arrival, Carl only asked that the car’s chains be rushed back to Mannheim on a fast freight train. They were needed urgently for a show car.