The 'History' of the name Mercedes-Benz was so profoundly rooted in automotive history that in many respects Mercedes-Benz is automotive history. The choice of names indicative to this invention 'the automobile' - 'the self moving vehicle' was Gottlieb Daimler, born on 17 March 1834 Schorndorf, Germany and Karl Benz, born on 25 November 1844 in Karlsruhe, Germany.
1882 saw Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach Otto's Gasmotorenfabrik to start working in a rather ill equiped greenhouse in Gottlieb's home. The results were patent of a new valve timming gear and a hot tube ignition system, the latter to be replaced in 1899 by the low-voltage magneto ignition developed by Robert Bosche.Maybech contributions was the surface caburetor which provided a fuel/air mixture by means of evaporation.
August 1885 Gottieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach patent a "Reitwagen", a two wheeled velocipede, in other words a motorcycle.
29 January 1886 Karl Benz was granted German Imperial Patent no. 37435 by the relevant authority in Berlin for a "vehicle powered by a gas engine whose gas is produced by fuel gasification by means of a device carried on the vehicle". The fuel was 'ligroin' and was available from the chemist's.
5 September 1886 the appearance of Benz's "Patent-Motorwagen", a vehicle powered by ligroin gas and designed by Benz & Co.s, was officially documented and widely reported. The motor car business in 1886 was very slow to pick up on this new invention. People either walked or rode in a horse-drawn carriage. The railway network already covered 40,000 km, while the road network was in a bad state. Moreover, at the cost of 3000 marks, the new invention was extremely expensive.
1886 Damiler's fast running internal combustion engine, patent no. 28022. This was first installed in a boat and then latter in a four-seater car with four wheels. William Maybach was the brains behind the 'Stahlradwagen', a vehicle with a tublar steel frame and wire wheels. A name that had been forgoten until the birth of the Maybach in 2002.
1890 The birth of Daimler-Motorren-Gesellschaft (DMG).
1899 Benz & Co. changed its company from a general partnership (OHG) to a stock corporation (AG).
25 March 1901 The Daimler Phoenix, a Maybach creation, stood on the start line for the Nice-Salon-Nice race. On winning Paul Meyan, General-Secretary of the Automobile-Club de France, stated "We have entered the Mercedes era". Mercedes was the name of the of Jellinek's 11 year old daughter.
1902 Mercedes Simplex was the first car to bear the name tag "Mercedes".
1909 The Blitzen-Benz, a beautiful, wild monster of a car built in white with a massive 21.5 liter engine developed 200bhp and capable of 228 kph (142 mph).
1924 Professor Ferninand Porsche, re-engineered Paul Daimler's engine with the works designation M7294, which lead on to his passion, supercharged road and racing cars. His legacy included supercharged 400 and 630K as well as the celebrated S, SS, SSK and SSKL ("Super Sport Kurz Leicht" - Super Sport Short Light) range, all symbols and embodiments of what a car should be and the ultimate advert for the make.
1926 the establishment of Daimler-Benz AG after the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and Benz & Cie.
