Baedeker to have three of his four sons − Hans, Ernst and Dietrich − beside him in the firm, as editors and writers. Karl Baedeker III, the fourth son, entered academia and rose to become a professor of physics at the University of Jena. He was killed in action at the Battle of Liège in August 1914. It was his son Karl Friedrich who revived Verlag Karl Baedeker after the Second World War. During his reign, which lasted over 50 years, Fritz produced 73 new "Baedekers", as they came to be known universally. The Baedeker travel guides became so popular that
Karl Benz Mannheim to live in nearby Ladenburg, and solely with their own capital, founded the private company, C. Benz Sons (German: "Benz Söhne") in 1906, producing automobiles and gas engines. The latter type was replaced by petrol engines because of lack of demand. This company never issued stocks publicly, building its own line of automobiles independently from Benz & Cie., which was located in Mannheim. The "Benz Sons" automobiles were of good quality and became popular in London as taxis. In 1912, Karl Benz liquidated all of his shares in Benz Sons and left the family-held company in Ladenburg to Eugen