It is said that women can hold up half the sky, but in the car circle, this truth does not seem to apply? Was it the dazzling light of the men of science and engineering in the era of the rise of the automobile that covered the glory that originally belonged to women? Or are women inherently unsuitable for an environment full of parts and a pungent smell, resulting in few women? In fact, women have not only never been absent from the automotive industry, but also played a pivotal role. Today is "Goddess Day" to tell you the story of Bertha Mercedes-Benz, the "mother of the car".
Bertha Benz is called the "mother of the car" not only because she is the wife of Carl Benz. Without her, Carl Benz could have lost touch with the "father of the car", and the historic Mercedes-Benz brand might not have existed. She was not only an important business partner of Carl Benz, but also directly promoted the birth and commercialization of the world's first car, became the first female driver in human history, created the first car "rally", and made the first advertisement for Mercedes-Benz in the car circle in the form of a reality show. I also created the world's first gas station, the first auto repair shop, the first pair of brake pads, the first self-driving tour... is not a "goddess" existence!
Hugh said that the woman was not a British object
Bertha Benz Benz) was born on 3 May 1849 in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, to a wealthy family. Father Karl Friedrich Ringle Friedrich· Ringer) is a well-known local architect and contractor. Before she was born, her mother, Auguste Friedrich, was a member of the Company. Friederike has already given birth to two daughters, Emilie Louise. Auguste· Louise) and Elise Mathilde Mathilde)。 Her mother was stressed because her husband was 47 years old and had no sons to inherit the family business.
At the age of 10, Bertha Ringel Ringer inadvertently opens a Bible at home, and her parents used to put memorabilia on the back of the Bible about the events that happened in the house. She saw her mother write under her own date of birth: "Unfortunately, another girl." Although her parents' view of "son preference" was very common at the time, this sentence deeply stung Bertha and has been haunting her for a long time. She also kept proving to her mother that even girls can do extraordinary things and achieve something extraordinary.
In 1858, Bertha entered the local women's high school, which was also where her two sisters studied. During her four years at school, Bertha studied hard. Although most of the time in school is occupied by "vocational skills for women" courses, for example, 9 hours a week to learn sewing and knitting. But in the final two years, not only did they have to study English, French, geometry and geography, but they also had to spend two hours a week studying nature. In these lessons, the girls learned about the properties of water, air, sound and heat, what a magnetic field is, and how electricity works.
Bai Fumei married a poor boy
On June 27, 1869, at the age of 24, Bertha met the young engineer Carl Benz on a hike held at the Eintracht Social Club. The warm, considerate and reasonable Bertha attracted Carl deeply. Carl Benz wrote in her autobiography, "Bertha, the girl from Pforzheim, attracted me instantly with her enthusiasm and liveliness, and then she became my partner, she gave me advice and helped me make decisions. Since then, she has become Carl Benz's "second motivation" besides herself, often bringing new inspiration to Mercedes when it encounters difficulties. With her determination and talent, she helped Carl Benz realize his dream of "building a vehicle powered by a gasoline engine."
They soon became engaged, and she was confident in her fiancé's career and gave him the utmost support. In 1871, at the age of 27, Mercedes-Benz decided to start a business, partnering with friends to start a factory in Mannheim. Due to the unreliability of the partners, which led to the deduction of production tools, Karl decided to buy shares in the company as soon as possible in the face of high interest on the loan.
Karl had to borrow money from Bertha. Although Bertha loved Karl, she was very rational and signed an agreement before the marriage to ensure that the dowry of 4244 guilders remained her own property. Bertha also converted her wedding room into a studio, rushing to complete the first orders and helping Mercedes through the crisis. On 20 July 1872, Karl married Bertha at the Schlosskirche Church in Pforzheim.
The scarf does not let the eyebrows start a business
Arguably, without the help of this money and the encouragement of his wife, Bertha, young Karl could have given up starting a business and found a job at another company. But the disaster was not alone, and in 1873, the stock market crisis in Europe also affected Germany. Carl Benz's dream was to build practical and efficient machines for all walks of life to expand his business, but because of the crisis at that time, all his wishes were in vain. In July 1877, when the young couple was about to have their third child, Carl Benz's studio was confiscated by the court and he had to continue his work by borrowing money everywhere. Despite this, Bertha Benz supports her husband's "car dream" unconditionally.
Bertha later recalled, "This was our common goal, and I always planned and discussed with him. That's why I know all about automotive technology. Bertha has her own views on the technical development of mechanical structure, often put forward her own views after discussion with her husband, and even winds the induction coil for the ignition device, it can be said that the success of Mercedes-Benz is inseparable from Carl's own wisdom, and even more inseparable from Bertha's support for him.
For a long time, Karl had no money to hire workers, and he gritted his teeth to keep the two-stroke engine running. The effort paid off, and on New Year's Day 1879, the engine finally succeeded in operation. That night, Bertha Benz said to her husband, "We'll have to go to the studio and try the engine." According to Karl Benz, "We came to the front of the engine again, we were both nervous, I went to turn on the ignition." In an instant, the engine started to run, and the rhythmic sound came one after another. We were so excited, and for more than an hour afterwards, we kept listening to the sound of it working, as beautiful as music. ”
However, the advent of the new engine, although it immediately attracted the attention of the local business community in Mannheim, was still not interested due to the high price, and no one was willing to do any testing. Later, when Karl disagreed with the other two partners and was ready to part ways, Bertha was firmly on her husband's side. Karl Benz said: "Whenever I have difficulties, my wife will always stand with me. In the face of the ups and downs in life, she did not have timidity, but tenaciously and bravely stood out, which rekindled my hope. I don't know what would have happened without her. ”
After multiple setbacks, Carl Benz often questioned his abilities and lost confidence. Bertha Benz often encouraged him, "Keep up the good work and don't despair." "With constant trying and motivating, Carl Benz regained his confidence and ultimately succeeded. On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz patented the first gasoline-powered car.
Carl Benz's Sail of Hope
Although the first car was patented, people did not know about it at the time, and no one wanted to buy it. So on July 3, 1886, Carl Benz publicly demonstrated his invention in Mannheim in order to expand his influence. However, due to the difficulty of controlling the vehicle, an accident occurred during the demonstration (the world's first car accident). Although Carl Benz subsequently improved the chassis, introducing wooden wheels, fuel tanks and manual brakes on the rear wheels, and successively launched the Nos. 2 and No. 3 models, new car sales remained unattended.
In 1888, Bertha Benz and her son made a long trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim
Carl Benz, a perfectionist, did not dare to drive a new car in public because of the previous accident. Bertha tried to arouse her husband's confidence and prove to the world the value of the car. On August 5, 1888, the 39-year-old Bertha, ostensibly returning to her mother's house with her two sons, actually hoped to give Carl Benz courage through action, make him believe in his creativity, and prove to him the value of the car.
At dawn, Bertha and her two sons set off from Mannheim in car Number 3 for a "legendary journey". As expected, curious spectators gathered for miles to watch three people driving in the countryside. At that time, the vehicle had no fuel tank and could only store 4.5 liters of gasoline at a time, and the fuel needed for the operation of the car engine could only be bought at the pharmacy. So she stopped at the Drugstore in the city of Wesloch to buy fuel, and Wisloch became the birthplace of the world's first gas station.
At that time, the oil purification technology was not mature, and the No. 3 car that added fuel was billowing smoke along the way, and passers-by threw shocked and frightened eyes at the three-wheeled "monster" with black smoke, and even worse, pointed at Bertha and shouted: Witch! Also because of fuel problems that caused the carburetor to clog, Bertha removed the pin from her hat to clean the clogged pipes; when the engine stalled, she used garter belts as insulating material, pulled the engine to ignite, and sought the help of a blacksmith to repair the chain.
When the wooden brakes failed, she hired a shoemaker and replaced the broken wooden brakes with leather brake pads, the world's first pair of brake pads. Due to the use of water-cooled engines at the time, every once in a while, the three had to stop to add water to the tank. When the vehicles with only two gears could not go uphill, they took turns pushing the carts and finally arrived in Pforzheim after dark, driving a total of 104 kilometers!
A few days later, Bertha chose another route in her vehicle and drove 194 kilometers back to Mannheim. Bertha practiced, overcame many difficulties, and proved the value of Mercedes-Benz cars with actions, this "rally" attracted great attention, instantly appeared on the "hot search", and helped Mercedes-Benz company to do a free advertisement. In 2008, the Bertha Mercedes-Benz Memorial Route was officially approved as the Industrial Heritage of Humanity Route. Bertha also fed carl Mercedes-Benz about the problems encountered during the trip, helping him to improve the gearbox and braking system.
In the first few years, sales of new models were not ideal, but among the first people interested in cars, a female teacher from Hungary came to Mannheim to see the car. But her budget was clearly undersized, and she was determined to buy a car with all the cash she had borrowed from other colleagues. Just to prove to students that women can also achieve something. And that's exactly what Bertha Benz pursued all her life.
Bertha Mercedes became the best spokesperson for "behind every successful man, there is a great woman"! Helped her husband realize the ideal that "the car will change the world". In 1925, Carl Benz wrote in his memoirs: "When the boat of life seemed destined to sink, there was only one person with me. That's my wife. She bravely and resolutely raised the new sails of hope. ”
Bertha Mercedes died in her villa in Ladenburg in 1944 at the age of 95. This legendary woman with lofty ambitions and firm convictions has great ambitions, strong curiosity and a clear mind, and a strong interest in technological innovation. It proves that women can also do extraordinary things and achieve a career!