Okay, saying the car was “stolen” is probably embellishing the story slightly, but the vehicle was taken from Karl Benz without his knowledge; it was just done by none other than his wife, Bertha Benz. Karl may get all of the credit for inventing the Motorwagen, but as they say, behind every great man is a great woman, and without Bertha, the Motorwagen most likely never would have been built in the first place.
Her dowry supplied the financial support necessary for Karl to continue his work, and due to the laws at the time, she couldn’t take any credit. She wasn’t going to let this stop her from using the invention she financed, though, and one morning in 1888, Karl awoke to a note that said she had taken the carriage and their two children to visit her mother 33 miles away.
Over the journey, she stopped for fuel and conducted many repairs to keep it going, returning it unharmed a few days later.
This was the first road trip ever taken in a car.
