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Karl Maybach: Important Stages in the Life of a Full-Blooded Engineer
Posted on July 06, 2004
| July 6, 1879 | Born in Cologne-Deutz as the first son of August Wilhelm Maybach and his wife, Bertha Wilhelmine Attends the public Realschule (secondary school) in Cannstatt until secondary school level (1896) |
| 1896 | First practical training at Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft |
| November 1, 1897 | Begins a two-year internship (as a “student“) at the machine factory in Esslingen |
| Spring 1900 | Begins his studies at the Königliche Baugewerkschule, Abteilung Maschinenbau (Royal School if Construction Trades, Mechanical Engineering Division) in Stuttgart |
| August 1901 | Completes his studies with a diploma as a Maschinentechniker (machine engineering), cumulative grade Gut (good) |
| 1902 | Moves to Berlin in order to work for Ludwig Loewe & Co. as a designer Employed as a test engineer at Centralstelle wissenschaftlich-technischer Untersuchungen (Central Office for Scientific and Technical Experiments) in Potsdam, Neubabelsberg Language studies in Lausanne (University) and Oxford |
| 1904 | Test engineer and assistant to his father, Wilhelm, at Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in Stuttgart |
| 1905-1906 | Develops and conducts trial work with Wilhelm Maybach on a six-cylinder race car |
| September 1906 | Relocates to the Société d'Atelier de Construction (design firm) in Saint-Ouen near Paris. Develops a six-cylinder automobile engine with an output of 150 HP |
| November 1909 | Develops the first Maybach airship engine as chief engineer |
| Spring 1912 | Maybach Motorenbau GmbH relocates to Friedrichshafen.He follows suit by moving to Lake Constance |
| October 26, 1915 | Marries Käthe Lewerenz in Hamburg-Altona |
| 1917 | Develops one of the world’s first high altitude aircraft engines for airplanes and airships |
| 1917 | Birth of his first daughter, Liselotte; followed by his son Walter (1920), daughters Marianne (1922) and Irmgard (1923) and another son, Günter (1927) |
| 1919 | Decides to build gasoline engines for automobiles Begins developing high speed diesel engines |
| September 1921 | Presents the Maybach model 22/70 PS with a 70 horsepower engine (internally referred to as “W 3”) at the Berlin Motor Show |
| 1923 | Develops the “second generation“ Maybach engine for airships (twelve-cylinder engine model VL 1) |
| February 16, 1924 | The title of honorary doctor in engineering is conferred on Maybach by the Wuerttembergische Technische Hochschule (Technical University) in Stuttgart |
| Sept. 4, 1929 | Friedrichshafen makes him an honorary citizen of the city |
| 1933 | Begins developing high performance engines for half-caterpillar and caterpillar vehicles |
| February 14, 1941 | His son, Walter, dies as platoon leader of a tank division in Tunisia |
| April 1944 | Design and research departments of Maybach Motorenbau relocate to Wangen in the Allgäu region |
| Sept. 12, 1946 | Concludes an agreement on the construction of a 1,000 hp tank engine with the French government |
| September 1947 | The Maybach family moves to Vernon, France, along with some 70 engineers and technicians |
| Mid-1951 | Returns to Germany, establishes permanent residence in the house in Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
| Dec. 31, 1952 | Resigns as managing director of Maybach Motorenbau GmbH |
| July 6, 1954 | Grosses Bundesverdienstkreuz (Great Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) is bestowed on Karl Maybach |
| July 6, 1959 | Grosses Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern (Great Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with Star) is awarded to him and he is appointed honorary professor |
| February 6, 1960 | Karl Maybach dies in Friedrichshafen |