André Michelin, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

André Michelin

French engineer and industrialist; co-founder (with his brother) of the Michelin Tyre Company

Date of Birth: 15-Jan-1853

Place of Birth: Paris, Île-de-France, France

Date of Death: 04-Apr-1931

Profession: engineer, industrialist, racing automobile driver

Nationality: France

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn


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About André Michelin

  • André Jules Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) 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, thereby supporting his tyre manufacturing operation. In 1886, 33-year-old Andre Michelin abandoned his career as a successful Parisian engineer to take over his grandfather's failing agricultural goods and farm equipment business.
  • Established in 1832,"Michelin et Cie" suffered from neglect and was on the verge of insolvency following the founder's death.
  • Michelin's grandfather had started the company that sold farm equipment and an odd assortment of vulcanized rubber products, such as belts, valves and pipes.
  • As soon as Andre took the helm of the company, he recruited his younger brother Edouard to join him at the company.
  • Edouard was named the company's managing director.
  • While duly committed to the success of the business, neither brother had any prior experience selling goods or had the slightest idea where to even begin. In 1889, a cyclist familiar with the Michelin Company approached Edouard with his flat tyre seeking assistance.
  • Getting a flat tyre frequently meant cyclists were left stranded for hours.
  • In the late 1880s, cycling was becoming a popular form of transportation and hobby due in large part to John Dunlop's 1888 patent for the inflatable bicycle tyre.
  • Before Dunlop's invention, bicycle tyres were made out of solid rubber.
  • The solid rubber tyres tended to provide little traction and made for a difficult and uncomfortable ride.
  • After the hapless cyclist approached the Michelin Company for assistance, Edouard took great interests in the new pneumatic tyres.
  • The Michelins recognized that there would be a great demand for pneumatic tyres if only there was a way to more quickly make repairs.
  • They reasoned that first the wheel must become detachable.
  • Edouard conducted a series of experiments and developed a number of prototypes.
  • In 1891, he was granted a patent for a detachable tire. André and his brother Édouard were inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan in 2002.

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