MICHELIN, Édouard Etienne (1859 - 1940)

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Édouard Michelin was a French industrialist. Édouard and his elder brother André served as co-directors of the Michelin Tyre Company (Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) in 1888 in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand.

Edouard seemed destined for a career as an artist, but around 1888 he and his brother Andre returned to Clermont-Ferrand in order to try to save the family business, then a manufacturer of agricultural tools, drive belts and hoses. In 1889, he improved greatly the design of the pneumatic tyre for bicycles, making tyres easier to change and repair. The invention has proven in the heavily publicized Paris–Brest cycle event of September 1891, and Michelin quickly adapted his inflatable tyres for use it 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 continued to experience tremendous growth in the service of emerging industry around the turn of the century and beyond. 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 in 1937. His great-grandson, a former CEO and managing partner of the Michelin Group who died on 26 May 2006 in a boating accident, was also named Édouard.

variant spelling:
MICHELIN, Édouard Etienne

History

* 23.06.1859	Clermont-Ferrand	born
1889	Clermont-Ferrand	Directeur de la société Michelin Tyre.
1891		Invention du pneumatique démontable, dans laquelle la chambre à air est indépendante du pneumatique proprement dit. (Pneu fixé avec des boulons et facilement démontable en cas de crevaison).
1892	Paris/Clermont-Ferrand	Test de leur invention : Les frères André et Edouard organisent leur propre course, entre Paris et Clermont-Ferrand et proposent d'équiper les vingt concurrents de leur pneu " démontable ".
03.08.1892		Patent N° US497453: Pneumatic Tire.
29.11.1892		Patent N° US495982 : Wheel for velocipedes.
1894		Equipement des premiers pneus sur la voiture à cheval « Le Phaéton » d'Edouard.
1895		Conception du premier pneu pour automobile.
1896		Equipement des pneumatiques démontables Michelin sur la voiture « l'Eclair » pour la course Paris-Bordeaux-Paris.
18.09.1902		Patent N° US750675: Nut for safety bolts, air valve caps, or other analogous purposes.
12.01.1904		Patent N° US756515: Lever for manipulating the covers of pneumatic tires.
27.01.1909		Patent N° US920603: wheel for vehicles.
1923		Invention Michelin : premier pneu tourisme.
1925		Invention Michelin : pneu poids lourds.
1929		Invention Michelin : premier pneu-rail pour les "Michelines'.
1930		Invention Michelin : pneu à chambre incorporée.
† 25.08.1940		died

Collections

		Industrialisation, ca. 1850-1920
		Rationalisation, ca. 1920-1950

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Permanent links

DMG-Lib		https://www.dmg-lib.org/dmglib/handler?biogr=24296004
Europeana		http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/2020801/dmglib_handler_biogr_24296004.html

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MICHELIN, Édouard Etienne (1859 - 1940)