[2][self-published source][3] The Germany engineer Georg Knorr established Knorr-Bremse GmbH in 1905 in Boxhagen-Rummelsburg, Neue Bahnhofstraße, outside Berlin (since 1920 part of Berlin-Friedrichshain).

Knorr promptly put into production an innovative rapid release brake that could bring passenger trains to a halt faster, more safely and consistently.

The introduction of the "Knorr Druckluft-Einkammerschnellbremse" (K1) compressed-air brake, along with its derivatives, offered considerably enhanced safety performance compared with traditional systems.

The first pneumatic brakes were of a basic design, but before long, indirect automatic systems using control valves were developed.

In 1920, the manufacturing plant of the first Bayerische Motoren-Werke AG (BMW, established in 1917/1918) located in Munich, Moosacher Straße, became a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse, delivering brake systems as Süddeutsche Bremsen-AG for the Bavarian Group Administration, the former "Royal Bavarian State Railways".

[citation needed] A second major sector of activity emerged during 1922 when Knorr-Bremse secured a patent for the use of pneumatic braking systems for commercial road vehicles.

The latter received International Union of Railways (UIC) approval and led to sales across 40 different countries, totaling almost 1.3 million units.

By this point, the company was already undertaking research into advanced control systems, which included microelectronics and digital techniques, seeking to develop commercially viable innovations for sale.

[4] In 1973, Knorr-Bremse established the Knorr Brake Corporation with the purpose of developing a presence in the lucrative North American market.

[4] Four years later, the company secured approval from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) for its recently developed DB 60 direct-release control valve for freight trains; via its US subsidiary, the DB 60 entered use in North America in 1985, where it was commonly used on exceptionally long freight trains hauled by multiple locomotives.

During the early 1990s, Knorr-Bremse's electro-pneumatic independent brake units were installed into the ICE 1 high speed trainsets operated by DB Fernverkehr.

[13] On 13 October 2022, it was announced that Knorr-Bremse AG had chosen Marc Llistosella to be a member of the Executive Board and CEO.