she took her husband’s new car without asking permission, loaded her two children into it, and drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim, to her mother’s, a ninety-kilometer drive. She sent her husband a brief telegram: “We’re at Grandma’s, everything’s fine,” and then returned home.
She did this because her husband had been putting off testing the car for two years—whether out of convenience, fear, or some other reason that was hard to fathom. His name was Carl Benz. And the woman who had the courage to set off, in 1888, on a 122-mile journey in a vehicle that aroused more suspicion than trust was Bertha Benz.
In a time when there were no road maps or GPS, Bertha navigated the road using rivers and railroads.
When I imagine her bouncing for twelve hours in a light carriage with wooden wheels, powered by a four-stroke engine with only two horsepower, I understand how reckless this woman was. And, perhaps, a little crazy. But perhaps that is precisely why her plan succeeded.
Her unauthorized journey behind the wheel of a Benz Motorwagen No. 3 was a radical statement: the automobile was safe and suitable for everyday use. It was also a powerful message to Carl—a reminder of his passion and an impulse to continue.
Bertha was the first person in the world to undertake a journey by automobile, and every time I hear those tired clichés about the “woman at the wheel,” I am reminded of her.
On the tribulations of an expatriate in Europe
Saturday, September 13, 2025
When this woman turned thirty-nine
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