Gottlieb Daimler was a German inventor and engineer who lived during the 19th century. Born in 1834 to baker Johannes Daimler and his wife Frederika in Schorndorf, he showed an apparent interest in engineering as a youth. http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/ He would later attend Stuttgart Technical School and the University of Stuttgart for a spectrum of engineering-related studies that spanned from the conceptual to the technical.http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/

Daimler invented and improved upon several items pivotal to the development of the modern automobile. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html These included the combustion engine, the motorcycle and the automobile. He co-founded the motor company that would become Daimler-Benz AG after his death in 1900. http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/

Daimler worked as a gunsmith after his technical studies concluded in 1859. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html In 1865, he met his business partner and design collaborator, Wilhelm Maybach, at the Bruderhaus Machinenfrabrik. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html His interest in small internal combustion engines led him to Otto and Langen’s firm, Gasmotorfabrik, Duetz (Duetz), in 1872. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Otto, Daimler, and Maybach began work on an internal combustion engine for road vehicles. http://www.autonews.com/files/euroauto/inductees/daimler.htm Disagreements with Otto prompted Daimler and Maybach to leave the firm in 1882. http://www.autonews.com/files/euroauto/inductees/daimler.htm

Using monies from his Duetz settlement, Daimler established an experimental workshop, in Cannstatt, Germany, for his initial experiments related to fuel combustion engines and the first automobiles. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html He received patents for a fuel only internal combustion engine, a motorized riding bike and a motorized boat during this period. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Daimler and Maybach manufactured the “world’s first automobile”, then called a motorized carriage, in 1866. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html It consisted of an American four-wheel, horse carriage equipped with an altered version of the “Grandfather-clock" engine. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html

They then moved the workshop to Seelberg Hill, hired 23 employees and a comptroller. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html The venture did not prove profitable. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Daimler was forced to seek business partners. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Max V. Duttenberg and Wilhelm Lorenz joined Daimler to form a joint stock company called Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) in 1890. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html The contract stipulated that Maybach be named technical director, a position for which Maybach felt he was overqualified. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html He left DMG in 1891. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html

Maybach's departure adversely affected the venture's success.http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Duttenberg and Daimler disagreed about DMG's direction. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Daimler wanted to produce cars while Duttenberg wanted to produce stationary engines. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Daimler secretly partnered with Maybach to pursue projects of interest. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html He gave Maybach complete creative control. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Patents awarded for their innovations appeared under Maybach's name. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html Products produced by this venture, such as the Phoenix engine, brought international recognition. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html

Daimler’s health began to fail during the winter of 1892. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html He temporarily relocated to Florence, Italy. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html During this period, DMG’s managing board forced Daimler out of the company. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html As the company’s fortunes worsened, Maybach refused an offer to return to DMG without Daimler. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html When customers offered to purchase rights to the Maybach patents from DMG in 1895, the managing board relented. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html They reinstated Daimler and Maybach. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html His health deteriorated, but Daimler refused to stop working despite his doctor’s instructions. http://www.autonews.com/files/euroauto/inductees/daimler.htm While coming home one evening, he collapsed. http://www.autonews.com/files/euroauto/inductees/daimler.htm Daimler died the morning of March 6, 1900. http://www.autonews.com/files/euroauto/inductees/daimler.htm

• 1834: Born in Schorndorf, Germany on March 17 http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/
• 1859: Finished technical studies http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1865: Met Wilhelm Maybach http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1867: Married Emma Kunz http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/
• 1885: Patent 36423 awarded for his motorcycle http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1886: Debut of the motorized carriage http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1889: Emma Kunz died http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/
• 1890: Formed DMG http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1891: Maybach and Daimler began secret collaborations http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1893: Married Lina Hartmann in Florence, Italy on July 8 http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/
• 1894: (Estimated) Forced out of DMG http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1895: Daimler and Maybach rejoined DMG http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-1333260-1-1279450-1-0-0-1279537-0-0-135-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
• 1900: Daimler died in Cannstatt, Germany on March 6 http://www.nndb.com/people/288/000174763/