On August 1, 1912, Mr. Heinrich Rau signed an employment contract with the company C. Benz Söhne in Ladenburg. The contract stipulated a salary of 180 marks per month. This monthly salary was to increase to 200 marks in 1914.
But fate had other plans. Heinrich Rau was called to the front of the First World War. In a military hospital in Montmėdy, near Verdun (France), the young engineer died of appendicitis on September 23, 1914. Heinrich Rau was only 26 years young.
During his short time at C. Benz Söhne, he nevertheless succeeded in creating an almost ground-breaking invention. He was able to apply for a patent for his "quick-release fastener" for removable automobile rims at the "Imperial Patent Office" in Berlin on December 11, 1912. In general, Heinrich Rau was probably very technically gifted. He had already built his own car in 1910. At the time, his parents' house was within sight of the Benz factory at Ilvesheimer Strasse 24.
Heinrich Rau's estate has now been handed over to the Dr. Carl Benz Automobile Museum by his grandson.
The documents are currently being processed, but will soon be on display in a special showcase on the life and work of Heinrich Rau at the Dr. Carl Benz Automuseum.
Further information can be found on the website.
