Storiascopio · Era 10 of 12 · lower secondary year 2
The first modern motor car
1886 · Mannheim, Germany
In short
The German engineer Karl Benz built a three-wheeled vehicle driven by a petrol engine, and in 1886 he was granted the patent. His Motorwagen had less than one horsepower and went only a little faster than a person running. In 1888 his wife Bertha drove it more than a hundred kilometres, from Mannheim to Pforzheim, with their two sons, to prove that it worked. On the way she bought fuel at a chemist's.
Why it matters From that first vehicle came the motor car, which in the 20th century changed cities, work and travel.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Karl Benz”
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1712Event 24 of 251895
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-first-modern-motor-car/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class