Karl Benz

About Karl Benz

Karl Benz (1844–1929) stands as a pivotal figure in modern history, recognized by MIT's Pantheon project with an HPI Rank of #193 for his fundamental contribution: inventing the first practical automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. His 1886 Patent-Motorwagen is widely regarded as the world's first true automobile, effectively launching the automotive industry and profoundly reshaping 20th-century transport, manufacturing, and urban life.

Despite this monumental historical importance, Benz's digital footprint in 2025 suggests a significant underattention gap. He garners an annualized 55K Wikipedia pageviews, placing him at a -9x attention deficit relative to his historical ranking. To highlight this disparity, his view count is substantially lower than that of Charles Babbage (#980 importance) who receives 655K views, or even Louis Braille (#892 importance) with 207K views, suggesting that the internet pays disproportionately more attention to moderately influential figures in related technical fields.

This lack of digital resonance is further suggested by a declining interest trend, with his 2025 annualized views showing a year-over-year change of -21.0%, and a momentum drop of -17% between Q1 and Q3, indicating that the inventor of the automobile is fading from contemporary online discourse.