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Automotive

The birth certificate of the automobile was issued 125 years ago today

By Mike Hanlon
January 29, 2011
The birth certificate of the automobile was issued 125 years ago today
Hero image - German Patent No. 37435 was applied for by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
Hero image - German Patent No. 37435 was applied for by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
A one litre motor and a top speed of just 16 km/h
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A one litre motor and a top speed of just 16 km/h
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886 - the vehicle pictured here is the subsequent iteration built two years later
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German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886 - the vehicle pictured here is the subsequent iteration built two years later
German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886 - the vehicle pictured here is the subsequent iteration built two years later
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German Patent No. 37435 was awarded to Karl Benz on January 29, 1886 - the vehicle pictured here is the subsequent iteration built two years later
The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
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The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
That's the man himself on the left
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That's the man himself on the left
The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
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The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
German Patent No. 37435 was first filed by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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German Patent No. 37435 was first filed by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
That's some flywheel
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That's some flywheel
The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
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The original patent machine in action at the Frankfurt Motor Show
Demonstration models of the patented motor car are regularly fielded by Mercedes Benz
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Demonstration models of the patented motor car are regularly fielded by Mercedes Benz
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
The very first motor car
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The very first motor car
Hero image - German Patent No. 37435 was applied for by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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Hero image - German Patent No. 37435 was applied for by Karl Benz on January 29, 1886
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The Benz workshop circa 1896
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The Benz workshop circa 1896
Depending on your definition of motor car, this is arguably also the first - it completed
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Depending on your definition of motor car, this is arguably also the first - it completed
Daimler was the first with a four-wheeled motor vehicle, a carriage chassis in which he had integrated the combustion engine that had proved so effective in the riding car
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Daimler was the first with a four-wheeled motor vehicle, a carriage chassis in which he had integrated the combustion engine that had proved so effective in the riding car
Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
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Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
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Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
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Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
the 1885 Daimler-Maybach Reitwagen
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the 1885 Daimler-Maybach Reitwagen
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Daimler applied for a patent for his riding car with “gas or petroleum engine,” as it was described in the patent specification, on 29 August 1885. German Patent No. DRP 36423 was awarded on 11 August 1886.
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Daimler applied for a patent for his riding car with “gas or petroleum engine,” as it was described in the patent specification, on 29 August 1885. German Patent No. DRP 36423 was awarded on 11 August 1886.
Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
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Daimler's four-wheeled motor vehicle was first shown in 1886
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On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz filed a Patent No. 37435 at the Reich Patent Office in Berlin – it is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and became the first of over 80,000 patents to the Mercedes Benz marque. Benz’ Patent Motor Car was equipped with a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine, which developed an output of 0.55 kW at 400 rpm from a displacement of 954 cubic centimetres. The vehicle’s top speed was 16 km/h. Happy birthday to the automobile and congratulations to the company which today remains at the forefront of personal transportation. Extensive detailed imagesed with a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine, which developed an output of 0.55 kW at 400 rpm from a displacement of 954 cubic centimetres. The vehicle’s top speed was 16 km/h. Happy birthday to the automobile and congratulations to the company which today remains at the forefront of personal transportation.

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AutomotivePersonal Powered TransportPatentMercedes-Benz
1 comment
Mike Hanlon
Mike Hanlon
As a photojournalist, Mike’s work has been published in a dozen languages across 20+ countries. He has edited or managed over 75 different print publications, each with a different target audience: sports, automotive, advertising, marketing, design, ad infinitum. Mike has been working in the internet for more than 25 years and was the veteran of five internet start-ups before founding New Atlas in 2002.

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Adrian Akau
The automobile was, at first, not appreciated much at all. In England, its speeds were limited to about 3 mph and a man had to walk in front warning of its coming so as to prepare horse and buggy riders for possible bolting of the horses. At the turn of the 20th century, the auto was still not much appreciated as people used to throw rocks and bottles at them as they passed by.