Mannheim of 1848, the city was a centre for political and revolutionary activity. In 1865, Friedrich Engelhorn founded the "Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik" (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory, BASF) in Mannheim, but the factory was constructed across the Rhine in Ludwigshafen because Mannheim residents feared air pollution from its operations. From this dye factory, BASF has developed into the largest chemical company in the world. After opening a workshop in Mannheim in 1871 and patenting engines from 1878, Karl Benz patented the first motor car in 1886. He was born in Mühlburg (now part of Karlsruhe). The Schütte-Lanz company, founded by
Aniline is hypergolic, igniting on contact between fuel and oxidizer. It is also dense, and can be stored for extended periods. Aniline was first isolated in 1826 by Otto Unverdorben by destructive distillation of indigo. He called it "Crystallin". In 1834, Friedlieb Runge isolated a substance from coal tar that turned a beautiful blue color when treated with chloride of lime. He named it "kyanol" or "cyanol". In 1840, Carl Julius Fritzsche (1808–1871) treated indigo with caustic potash and obtained an oil that he named "aniline", after an indigo-yielding plant, anil ("Indigofera suffruticosa"). In 1842, Nikolay Nikolaevich Zinin reduced nitrobenzene and