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 Aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula CHNH. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the prototypical aromatic amine. Its main use is in the manufacture of precursors to polyurethane and other industrial chemicals. Like most volatile amines, it has the odor of rotten fish. It ignites readily, burning with a smoky flame characteristic of aromatic compounds. Aniline is a planar molecule. The amine is nearly planar, owing to conjugation of the lone pair with the aryl substituent. The C−N distance is correspondingly shorter. In aniline, the C−N and C−C distances are close