Gottlieb Daimler

Hello! My name is Gottlieb Daimler, and I helped change the world by putting it on wheels. I was born on March 17th, 1834, in a town called Schorndorf in Germany. My father was a baker, and while I loved the smell of fresh bread, I was far more fascinated by machines. I would spend hours taking apart clocks and toys just to see how their inner parts worked together. My parents saw this curiosity and supported my dream of becoming an engineer, even though it was very different from the family business of baking. After finishing my schooling in 1848, I took my first major step toward that goal and became a gunsmith's apprentice. This experience taught me about metalworking and the kind of precision mechanics I would need for the journey ahead.

My apprenticeship taught me a great deal, but I was hungry to learn more about the world's most advanced technology. I traveled to France and England, working in modern engineering factories where I was like a sponge, soaking up every idea I could about steam engines and machinery. My career took a significant step forward in 1872 when I became the technical director at a company called Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which built large, stationary gas engines. It was there that I met a brilliant young designer named Wilhelm Maybach. We quickly became a great team, but I had a vision that went far beyond the huge, slow engines we were building. I dreamed of creating a small, powerful engine that was light enough to make a vehicle move all on its own. The company's owner didn't share my vision, so in 1882, Wilhelm Maybach and I left to start our own workshop in a greenhouse behind my house in Cannstatt.

Our little greenhouse became a center of invention. Wilhelm and I worked day and night, completely focused on building the engine of my dreams. We decided to create an engine that ran on gasoline, which was mostly used as a cleaning fluid at the time. Our primary goal was to make it fast, light, and powerful. By 1885, we had succeeded. We created a single-cylinder engine that was much smaller and faster than any that had come before it. Because of its tall, upright shape, we nicknamed it the 'Grandfather Clock' engine. With the engine complete, we had to prove it could work. We fitted it to a specially built wooden-framed two-wheeler. In November of 1885, my son Adolf took it for its first ride. Our creation, which we called the 'Reitwagen' or 'Riding Car,' became the world's first motorcycle. We had proven that our little engine could power a vehicle.

The motorcycle was a fantastic success, but I already had my sights set on something bigger: a four-wheeled automobile. In 1886, we purchased a stagecoach and secretly installed our engine in it, creating the world's first four-wheeled car powered by a gasoline engine. People were astonished to see a carriage moving down the street with no horses pulling it. Our engine was incredibly versatile. We adapted it to power a boat on the Neckar River in 1886 and later used it for a motorized railcar and even a balloon. I wanted to show the world that my engine could be used on land, on water, and in the air. To build and sell our inventions on a larger scale, I founded the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, or DMG, in 1890.

My journey was filled with many challenges, but my strong partnership with Wilhelm Maybach and our shared passion for invention helped us succeed. Together, we laid the groundwork for the modern automobile and started a company that would grow beyond my wildest dreams. I lived to be 65 years old, passing away in the year 1900. Long after I was gone, in 1926, my company, DMG, merged with the company of another great German inventor, Karl Benz. Together, they formed the company that makes Mercedes-Benz cars today. Every time you see a car on the road, you see a little piece of the dream that began in my small garden greenhouse.