Born: 25 November 1844 · Died: 4 April 1929 · Age at death: 84
How old was Carl Benz when he died?
Carl Benz died aged 84. He was born on 25 November 1844 and died on 4 April 1929.
German engineer who built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen of 1885, widely regarded as the first practical petrol-powered car
Did you know?His wife, Bertha, completed the first long-distance car journey to prove the vehicle was a viable method of transport.
Quick facts
Date of birth25 November 1844
Date of death4 April 1929
Age at death84
Cause of deathHereditary cystatin C amyloid angiopathy
NationalityGerman
BirthplaceMühlburg, Germany
Occupationengineer, inventor
Editor's Take:
Carl Benz built the first practical motor car. Born near Karlsruhe, he was the son of a train driver who died when Carl was two. He trained as an engineer and set up his own workshop. In 1886 he patented his three-wheeled Motorwagen, powered by a petrol engine. Few people believed in it. In 1888 his wife Bertha took it, without telling him, on a 106-kilometre drive to her mother's house. It proved the car worked. His firm later became part of Mercedes-Benz.
Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (German:; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical, modern automobile and the first car to be put into series production.