Born: 3 May 1849, Germany
Died: 5 May 1944
Country most active: Germany
Also known as: Cäcilie Bertha Ringer
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Carl Benz was an automotive pioneer—and so was his wife. Bertha Benz was her husband’s main investor, using the funds from her dowry and an advance on her inheritance. She was also an inventor and her 1888 road trip—the first time an automobile with an internal combustion engine was driven over a long distance—was a strategic marketing tactic and practical test she devised without consulting him. As a field test, the 106-kilometre (66-mile) journey revealed several issues that Bertha had to troubleshoot along the way, but she and her two teenaged sons made it to her mother’s house the same day, and Bertha dashed off a telegram to her husband to inform him. Her trip garnered the publicity she had hoped for, contributing to the company’s future success, and the insights she gained led to several improvements, including the introduction of an additional gear for climbing hills and brake linings to improve braking power—which she had invented along the way.