Gottlieb Daimler

Gottlieb Daimler was born in Schorndorf Germany in 1834. After he trained to be a gunsmith, he decided to became an engineer instead.

Early in his career he believed that steam engines were outdated and began working on an experimental gas engine.

Because Gottlieb was a difficult dude to get along with, he ended up leaving many engineering firms because they didn't share his vision or work ethic.

He worked in Belgium, Britain and France and in 1872 he became technical director to the gas-engine company 'Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik' which Nicolaus Otto co-owned.

One of Gottlieb Daimlers closest friends and good partners was Wilhelm Maybach whom he met in 1865 in Reutlingen where Gottlieb was the technical manager of the works at the orphanage in Bruderhaus where Wilhelm lived.

The two became very good friends and worked on Daimler's Reitwagen (1885) and Motorwagen (1886), which along with similar efforts by Carl Benz are considered the world's first self-propelled vehicles.

While working at Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik Daimler put together a team of the best engineers he had worked with, with Wilhelm Maybach leading the way.

Although Daimler was very successful at Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, he was not satisfied. Remember, he really had a hard time getting along with others. He wanted more time for research and development while Otto, the guy who co-owned the place wanted to make more engines.

So, Daimler left and his good friend Mayback went with him.

Daimler and Mayback concentrated on producing the first light-weight, high-speed engine to run on gasoline.

Eventually they produced an engine with a surface carburetor, that vaporized the petrol and mixed it with air. The engine they'd produced with Nicolaus Otto achieved 130 revolutions per minute, however Daimler and Mayback's engine reached 900 revolutions per minute.

In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler and his design partner Wilhelm Maybach took Nicolaus Otto internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine.

Although Daimler did not invent the internal combustion engine, he did improve on it.

In Cannstatt they patented their four stroke engine in 1885. They also created the worlds first motorcycle by mating a Daimler engine to a bicycle.

It was In 1889 that Daimler and Maybach placed their engine into a horse carriage and drove the vehicle at speeds of 11 miles per hour, given them the first produced four-wheeled automobile.

They decided to sell their vehicles after they devised a four-speed gearbox and a belt-driven mechanism to turn the wheels.

There is some controversy about who invented the first Nicolaus Otto Nicolaus Otto built it first or Gottlieb Daimler.

The Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft was founded in 1890. The ompany soon developed a reputation for reliability.

In the first road race held between Paris and Rouen in 1894, only 15 of the 102 cars completed the course and all 15 cars were powered by Daimler engines.

Impressed by this Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, decided to use Daimler engines in the airships he was building and they were also used in the armored cars that were being developed.

After being told to stay in bed because of failing health in 1899, the workaholic insisted on being driven in bad weather to inspect a possible factory site. On the way home Gottlieb Daimler fell out and died on March 6, 1900.