Sometimes, when no one else believes in you, you just have to take matters into your own hands. That’s exactly what Bertha Benz did in 1888.
You may recognize the Benz name—her husband, Carl Benz, was the man behind what would later become Mercedes-Benz. But without Bertha, his invention might never have taken off.
Bertha married Carl when she was 23. She believed in his work so much that she used her entire dowry to pay off his debts and buy out his business partner. But even after Carl built his three-wheeled gas-powered car, people didn’t understand its value. So, Bertha decided to show them.
One morning in August 1888, without telling Carl, Bertha took the car and went on a road trip with their two teenage sons. They traveled from Mannheim to Pforzheim—a trip that took hours back then but would be just an hour by today’s standards.
When they arrived, she sent Carl a message letting him know that her trip had been a success. Word spread quickly about the woman and two boys driving a loud, strange machine. Some even thought it was the work of the devil!
But this historic road trip wasn’t magic—it was all thanks to Bertha’s determination. Carl later admitted in his memoir that his wife was his biggest supporter, saying, “Only one person remained with me in the small ship of life when it seemed destined to sink. That was my wife.”
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