August 5, 1888: The Journey of Bertha Benz

August 5, 1888: Bertha Benz, 39 years old, puts her 15-year-old son Eugen and her 13-year-old son Richard into a Benz Patent-Motorwagen Model III, and drives it from her home in Mannheim to Pforzheim, where her mother lived. Both cities were in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The distance between them is 121 miles. This was, by far, the longest anyone had ever driven an automobile. Before this historic trip, motorized drives were merely very short trials, returning to the point of origin, made with assistance of mechanics.

She did it without telling her husband, Karl Benz, who invented the thing. She wanted to prove to her husband, who had failed to adequately consider marketing his invention, that the automobile in which they both had heavily invested would become a financial success, once it was shown to be useful to the general public; and to give her husband the confidence that his constructions had a future.

She left Mannheim around dawn, solving numerous problems along the way. She Bertha demonstrated her significant technical capabilities on this journey. With no fuel tank, and only a 4.5-litre supply of petrol in the carburetor, she had to find ligroin, the petroleum solvent needed for the car to run. The solvent was only available at apothecary shops, so she stopped in Wiesloch, at the city pharmacy, to purchase the fuel. This made the chemist in Wiesloch the world's first service station.

She cleaned a blocked fuel line with her hat pin, and used her garter as insulation material. A blacksmith had to help mend a chain at one point. When the wooden brakes began to fail, Benz visited a cobbler to install leather, making the world's first pair of brake linings. An evaporative cooling system was employed to cool the engine, making water supply a big worry along the trip. The trio added water to their supply every time they stopped.

The car's two gears were not enough to surmount uphill inclines, and Eugen and Richard often had to push the vehicle up steep roads. Mrs. Benz reached Pforzheim somewhat after dusk, notifying her husband of her successful journey by telegram. She drove back to Mannheim several days later.

The novel trip received a great deal of publicity, as she had sought. The drive was a key event in the technical development of the automobile. The pioneering couple introduced several improvements after Bertha's experiences. She reported everything that had happened along the way and made important suggestions, such as the introduction of an additional gear for climbing hills, and brake linings to improve brake-power. Her trip demonstrated to the burgeoning automotive industry that test drives were essential to their business.

Karl Benz lived until 1929, Bertha Benz until 1944, Richard Benz until 1955, Eugen Benz until 1958. In 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route was established, on the route she drove, as part of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

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August 5, 1888 was a Sunday. Since playing professional sports on Sunday was still illegal in many places, and baseball's National League wouldn't do it, anyway, there were only 3 games played, all in the American Association:

* The Brooklyn Bridegrooms -- so named because several of their players had gotten married in the previous off-season -- lost to the St. Louis Browns, 3-1 at the original Washington Park in Brooklyn. The Grays joined the NL in 1890, the Browns in 1892. The Browns would become the Cardinals in 1900, although their former name would be taken up by an AL team in 1902. The Bridegrooms would go through a few name changes, and became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Kansas City Cowboys, 6-0 at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. This version of the Athletics folded after the 1890 season, though their name would be taken up by an AL team in 1901. This version of the Cowboys, not connected to the NL team that folded after the 1886 season, would only play in 1888.

* And the Cincinnati Red Stockings beat the Cleveland Blues, 6-5 at American Park in Cincinnati. The Red Stockings joined the NL and changed their name to the Reds, both in 1890. The Blues joined the NL and became the Cleveland Spiders, both in 1889, but were consolidated out of existence after the 1899 season.

July 3, 1886: The 1st Automobile

July 3, 1886: Karl Benz publicly unveils for his Benz Patent-Motorwagen in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a motor tricycle with a rear-mounted 58.2 cubic-inch internal-combustion engine. He drives it on the Ringstrasse, at 10 miles per hour.

It is the first automobile. It was financed by the dowry of his wife, the former Bertha Ringer.

Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant was born on November 25, 1844 in Mühlburg, Baden-Württemberg. His parents, Josephine Vaillant and Johann Georg Benz, were not yet married at the time of his birth. After their marriage, he was renamed Karl Friedrich Benz.

Although he was only 2 years old when his father died, Karl followed him into the profession of locomotive engineering. He combined this with his love of bicycles, and looked for a way to combine them into a single vehicle. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was the result.

In 1888, Bertha Benz drove Benz Patent-Motorwagen Number 3 from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg -- 121 miles. She did this without telling her husband. This drive, and the Number 3's display at the 1889 World's Fair in Paris, helped to popularize the automobile.

Gottlieb Daimler was working on an automobile as early as 1885, and made his first successful one in 1892. His engineering partner was Emil Jellinek, who had a daughter named Mercedes. Daimler died in 1900, and he and Benz never met. Nevertheless, in 1926, 3 years before Karl Benz died, the companies merged as Daimler Benz. "Mercedes-Benz," or just "Mercedes," would become renowned as the greatest automobiles in the world -- even if German competitors BMW (Bavarian Motor Werks) would call their car, in commercials airing in America, "the ultimate driving machine."

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July 3, 1886 was a Saturday. These games were played in baseball's National League:

* The New York Giants beat the Chicago White Stockings, 7-3 at West Side Park in Chicago. The White Stockings became the Cubs in 1903, although their former name would be taken up by an AL team in 1901, later shortened to "White Sox."

* The Detroit Wolverines beat the Boston Beaneaters, 7-5 at Recreation Park in Detroit. The Wolverines would win the Pennant in 1887, but rising costs forced them out of business after the next season. The Beaneaters would go through a few name changes, before becoming the Braves in 1912.

* The St. Louis Maroons beat the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at an early version of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. This would be the last season for the Maroons. The Nationals were consolidated out of existence after the 1899 season, although their name would be taken up by the moved Montreal Expos in 2005.

* The Philadelphia Quakers beat the Kansas City Cowboys, 8-2 at Association Park in Kansas City. This would be the only season for the Cowboys. The Quakers became the Phillies in 1891.

And in the American Association:

* The New York Metropolitans beat the Louisville Colonels, 15-7 at Eclipse Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The Metropolitans, like the NL team founded in 1962, were called the Mets for short, but only lasted 1 more season. The Colonels joined the NL in 1892, but were consolidated out of existence after the 1899 season.

* The Brooklyn Grays lost to the St. Louis Browns, 4-0 at Sportsman's Park. The Grays joined the NL in 1890, the Browns in 1892. The Browns would become the Cardinals in 1900, although their former name would be taken up by an AL team in 1902. The Grays would go through a few name changes, and became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, 12-3 at Recreation Park in Pittsburgh. The Alleghenys joined the NL in 1887, the Orioles in 1892. The Alleghenys became the Pirates in 1891. The Orioles were consolidated out of existence after the 1899 season, although their name would be taken up by the St. Louis Browns when they moved to Baltimore in 1954.

* The Cincinnati Red Stockings beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-2 at American Park in Cincinnati. The Red Stockings joined the NL and changed their name to the Reds, both in 1890. That same year, this version of the Athletics folded, though their name would be taken up by an AL team in 1901.