Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was born in Schorndorf Germany in 1834. Although he had trained to be a gunsmith, Gottlieb Daimler decided to become an engineer instead.
Early in his career Gottlieb believed that steam engines were outdated and began working on an experimental gas engine
Gottlieb Daimler
Because Gottlieb was a difficult individual 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 Gottlieb became technical director to the gas-engine company ‘Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik’ which Nicolaus Otto co-owned.
Daimler and Maybach
One of Gottlieb Daimlers closest friends and good partners was Wilhelm Maybach whom he met in 1865 in Reutlingen where Daimler was the technical manager of the works at the orphanage in Bruderhaus where Wilhelm lived.
Gottlieb and Wilhelm 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 Gottlieb 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. Gottlieb wanted more time for research and development while Nikolaus Otto, the co-owned of the company, wanted to make more engines,
So Daimler left and his good friend Maybach went with him.
Gottlieb Daimler – Taking the Engine a Step Further
Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach concentrated on producing the first light-weight, high-speed engine to run on gasoline.
Eventually Gottlieb and Maybach 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 Maybach’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 Gottlieb Daimler did not invent the internal combustion engine, he did improve on it.
Gottlieb Daimler – Worlds First Motorcycle
In Cannstatt Gottlieb Daimler and Wihelm Maybach patented their four stroke engine in 1885. They also created the world’s first motorcycle by mating a Gottlieb 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.
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
The Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft was founded in 1890. The company 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 Gottlieb Daimler engines in the airships he was building.
Daimler’s engines 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 Gottlieb Daimler 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.