6 March 1900: Death of Gottlieb Daimler, German Engineer

Gottlieb Daimler was born in Schorndorf, Württemberg on 17 March 1834. He trained as a gunsmith but had a fascination with engineering from an early age. After studying at the Stuttgart Polytechnic Institute he began a career in engineering.

The inventor of the four-stroke internal-combustion engine, Nikolaus A. Otto, employed Daimler as the technical director of his company, Deutz in Cologne, from 1872. Otto, Daimler and another engineer, Wilhelm Maybach, worked on refining the internal-combustion engine for use with road vehicles.

After a disagreement with Otto, Daimler left Deutz and was soon followed by Maybach. The two engineers set up their own company in 1882 and, by 1885, had patented a high-speed engine. That same year they attached their engine to a bicycle creating the world’s first motorcycle.

The following year Daimler and Maybach built a larger engine and used it to propel a four-wheeled carriage and, in 1887, used another engine in a boat. Then, in 1889, the pair placed an engine on the rear of a frame of light tubing and their first commercially viable automobile was born.

The Daimler Motor Company was formed in 1890 to sell the vehicles. They had a four-speed gearbox, wheels that were driven by belts and a top speed of 11 miles per hour. Daimler engines proved to be very reliable and production licences were granted to companies around the world, including Peugeot in France.

Daimler died in Cannstatt on 6 March 1900. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1978.

More Biographies