Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was a German engineer and automotive pioneer whose company presented one of the first motor trucks, the Daimler Motor-Lastwagen, in 1896 and sold the first one to a London buyer.
What they did and why it matters
Daimler's engines and his 1896 truck began the shift of freight from horses and rail sidings to motor vehicles that could deliver door to door. The Motor-Lastwagen had a rear-mounted two-cylinder engine of about 4 horsepower and carried 1,500 kilograms at around 12 kilometers per hour. Trucks were slow to catch on but eventually replaced horse-drawn wagons for local and regional delivery. Every LTL route, truckload lane, and last-mile van run that moves goods to and from fulfillment centers depends on the motor truck he helped introduce.
Related people
Sources
- Daimler Motor Lastwagen (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
- Daimler invented the world's first truck in 1896 (Fleet Transport) fleet.ie