Karl Benz applied for a patent for his Benz Patent Motorwagen, a three-wheeler vehicle with a Benz-designed one-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine. This patent, DRP-37435, “Fahrzeug mit Gasmotorenbetrieb,” (Vehicle with gas engine) is recognized as the world's first patent—regarded as the birth certificate—for a practical internal combustion engine powered automobile. Though the vehicle was awkward and frail, it incorporated some essential elements that would characterize the modern vehicle: electrical ignition, differential, mechanical valves, carburetor, engine cooling system, oil and grease cups for lubrication, and a braking system. The first public test-drive took place on 3 Jul 1886 in and around Mannheim. The patent was issued 2 Nov 1886, effective from the date of the application.

The Boston Herald printed a letter from Olga Owens Huckins attacking DDT pesticide as dangerous. Huckins was a friend of Rachel Carson, and also sent a personal letter to her, which together prompted the writing of Carson's book Silent Spring, an early call for modern environmentalism. Carson collected research and data. She concluded that organic-pesticides built up in crops and sprayed crops, transferred to birds and other animals and was responsible for the poisoning of the surrounding fauna. Silent Spring asked important questions about balancing industrial and agricultural needs, progress, the protection of the environment and the quality of life. Carson's skilled writing awakened the conscience of America. It took until 1972 to get its use banned in the U.S.