Daimler motor carriage

Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler was born in 1834. Gottlieb Daimler initially learned the trade of gunsmith. After four years working in an engineering factory in Alsace, he began studying mechanical engineering in Stuttgart. He then went to England for two years. After his return, he works for a short time as a design engineer in Geislingen. Then he moves to Reutlingen, where he meets Wilhelm Maybach. This ingenious autodidact accompanied Daimler to all his professional stations in the future. First they went to the "Gasmotorenfabrik Köln Deutz Aktiengesellschaft".

There, the two designers were part of the company's development staff from 1872 onwards.

Nikolaus Otto, who won first prize with his Otto engine at the Paris World Exhibition in 1867, also worked at Deutz. This engine burned gasoline and was much lighter and easier to handle than the gas engine that had been used until then. With Daimler's help, the Otto engine was ready for series production. However, disputes soon arose with Otto. Daimler was defeated in the power struggle and was dismissed from the Deutz gas engine factory. However, he was a rich man, because the company's shares had risen sharply in value under his leadership. He was now able to set up his own company.

Together with Maybach, Daimler went to Cannstatt, where they set up an elaborate experimental workshop in 1882. There, together with mechanics, the two inventors researched small, high-speed gasoline engines. On April 3, 1885, Daimler was granted a patent for the so-called "grandfather clock". In 1885, they built this engine into the two-wheeled so-called "riding car". Thus they created at the same time the first vehicle with gasoline engine and the first motorcycle in the world.