Edouard Michelin
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the Édouard Michelin born in 1859. See also Édouard Michelin (born 1963)Édouard Michelin (born 1963)Édouard Michelin , was managing partner and co-chief executive of the Michelin Group. He was the great-grandson of Édouard Michelin , a co-founder of the company....
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Édouard Michelin (23 June 1859 – 25 August 1940) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
industrialist. He was born in Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Édouard and his elder brother André
André Michelin
André Jules Michelin was aFrench industrialist who, with his brother Édouard , founded the Michelin Tyre Company in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand.In 1900, André Michelin published the first Michelin Guide, the purpose of which was to promote tourism by car,...
served as co-directors of the Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
company.
Edouard seemed destined for a career as an artist, but around 1888 he and his brother Andre returned to Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
in order to try to save the failing family business, then a manufacturer of agricultural tools, drive belts and hoses. In 1889, he improved greatly on the design of the pneumatic tyre for bicycles, making tyres easier to change and repair. The invention proved its worth in the heavily publicised Paris–Brest cycle event of September 1891, and Michelin quickly adapted his inflatable tyres for use on motor vehicles, of which France was becoming the world's leading producer. Success came rapidly, and already in 1896 approximately 300 Paris taxis were running on Michelin pneumatic tyres. His company went on to experience tremendous growth serving the fledgling industry around the turn of the century and beyond.
In the traumatic weeks that followed the German invasion
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
of May/June 1940, world events overshadowed Michelin's death. Nevertheless, by the time he died he had built Michelin into a major industrial force, with many "firsts" in wheel and tyre technology to its credit. He had overseen the acquisition of the (then bankrupt) Citroën business in 1934: with his son Pierre and their friend Pierre-Jules Boulanger
Pierre-Jules Boulanger
Pierre-Jules Boulanger, often known simply as Pierre Boulanger was a French engineer and businessman. He directed Citroën as a vice-president and as chairman from 1935 until his death in a car accident. He was known to colleagues as PJB.- Biography :Boulanger was born in Sin-le-Noble...
he secured its position as one of Europe's most innovative auto-makers in the 1940s and 1950s, producing models such as the Citroën Traction
Citroën Traction Avant
The Citroën Traction Avant is an automobile which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1934 to 1957. About 760,000 units were produced.-Impact on the world:...
, the revolutionary Citroën TUB/TUC light van
Citroën TUB
The Citroën TUB was a light van derived from the Traction Avant passenger car. The van was produced by Citroën between 1939 and 1941...
and the 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
prepared for introduction at the 1939 Paris Motor Show (which was cancelled at short notice, the war causing the launch of the little car to be deferred).
Édouard Michelin also lived a long life and suffered the personal tragedies of being predeceased by two of his sons, Étienne Michelin having been killed in a flying accident in 1932 and Pierre Michelin having been killed in a road accident near Montargis
Montargis
Montargis is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. The town is located about south of Paris and east of Orléans in the Gâtinais....
in 1937. Like many industrialists, Michelin was a member of the anti-semitic anti-Dreyfusard camp during the political turmoil over the Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
in turn of the century France.
His great-grandson, a former CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and managing partner of the Michelin Group who died on 26 May 2006 in a boating accident, was also named Édouard
Édouard Michelin (born 1963)
Édouard Michelin , was managing partner and co-chief executive of the Michelin Group. He was the great-grandson of Édouard Michelin , a co-founder of the company....
.