who was the first person to get a driver's license
Karl Benz
title: Driver's license text: the last of them being Belgium where, until 1977, it was possible to purchase and hold a license without having to undergo a driving test. As automobile-related fatalities soared in North America, public outcry provoked legislators to begin studying the French and German statutes as models. On August 1, 1910, North America's first licensing law for motor vehicles went into effect in the US state of New York, though it initially applied only to professional chauffeurs. In July 1913, the state of New Jersey became the first to require "all" drivers to pass a mandatory examination before receiving a license. title: Driver's licenses in the United States text: . As the number of motor vehicles reached tens of thousands, state and local governments assumed a new power: authorizing vehicles and drivers. In 1901, New York became the first state to register automobiles; by 1918 all states required license plates. States were slower to require licenses for drivers. Only 39 states issued them by 1935 and few required a test, despite widespread concern about incompetent drivers. Early motorists were taught to drive by automobile salesmen, family and friends, or organizations like the YMCA. By the 1930s, many high schools offered driver education. Some states also have additional classifications. Hawaii, title: Driver's license text: on public roads in 1888 after residents complained about the noise and smell of his "Motorwagen". Up until the start of the 20th century, European authorities issued licenses to drive motor vehicles similarly "ad hoc," if at all. Mandatory licensing for drivers came into force on 1 January 1904 after the Motor Car Act 1903 received royal assent in the United Kingdom. Every car owner had to register their vehicle with their local government authority and be able to prove registration of their vehicle on request. The minimum qualifying age was set at 17. The licence gave its holder 'freedom title: Driver's license text: of the road' with a maximum speed limit. Compulsory testing was introduced in 1934, with the passing of the Road Traffic Act. Prussia, then a state within the German Empire, introduced compulsory licensing on September 29, 1903. A test on mechanical aptitude had to be passed and the "Dampfkesselüberwachungsverein" ("steam boiler supervision association") was charged with conducting these tests. In 1910, the German imperial government mandated the licensing of drivers on a national scale, establishing a system of tests and driver's education requirements that was adopted in other countries. In 1909, the Convention with Respect to the International Circulation of title: Horatio Nelson Jackson text: Horatio Nelson Jackson Horatio Nelson Jackson (March 25, 1872 – January 14, 1955) was an American physician and automobile pioneer. In 1903, he and driving partner Sewall K. Crocker became the first people to drive an automobile across the United States. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to American parents, Jackson graduated from the University of Vermont in 1893, became a physician, and practiced in Brattleboro and Burlington, Vermont. He was married to Bertha Richardson Wells, the daughter of William Wells, a Medal of Honor recipient and one of the richest men in Vermont as a partner in Wells, Richardson &