André Citroën

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André Citroën
André Citroën on an ocean voyage
Born
André-Gustave Citroën

(1878-02-05)5 February 1878
Paris, France
Died3 July 1935(1935-07-03) (aged 57)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Business, engineering
Known forFounder of Citroën
RelativesAlfred Lindon (brother in law)
The gears with double chevrons that reputedly were the basis of the Citroën logo.
Certificate of the S. A. André Citroën, issued 30 September 1927, signed by André Citroën
His grave in Paris (2011)

André-Gustave Citroën (French: [ɑ̃dʁe ɡystav sitʁɔɛn]; 5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist and the founder of French automaker Citroën. He is also remembered for his application of double helical gears.

Life and career

Born in Paris in 1878, André-Gustave Citroen was the fifth and last child of Jewish parents,

Sir A. J. Ayer
(the only son of his aunt Reine).

The Citroen family descended from a grandfather in the

tréma was added to the surname (reputedly by one of André's teachers), changing Citroen to Citroën.[3]

His father died by suicide when André was six years old (presumably after failure in a business venture in a diamond mine in South Africa). It is reputed that the young André Citroën was inspired by the works of Jules Verne and had seen the construction of the Eiffel Tower for the World Exhibition, making him want to become an engineer.

Citroën was a graduate of the

École Polytechnique in 1900. In that year he visited Poland
, the birthland of his mother, who had recently died. During that holiday, he saw a carpenter working on a set of gears with a fish bone structure. These gears were less noisy, and more efficient.

Citroën bought the patent for very little money, leading to the invention that is credited to Citroën: double helical gears. Their distinctive pattern was reputed to be the inspiration for the double chevron marque of the Citroën brand. In 1908, he was installed as a chairman for the automotive company Mors, where he was very successful.[4]

During World War I, he was responsible for mass production of armaments. Citroën gained an international reputation during the war, and more as the leading production expert in France. His activities were extensive in connection with the Renault plant, which employed 35,000 men in the manufacture of munitions during the war.[citation needed]

In the middle of 1919, Citroën was one of the directors of the Société Française Doble, Paris, to build steam cars in France. Some other directors of the company were Paul Sicault, of the Renault Co.; M. Mery, of the Turcat-Mery Co.; M. Delage, the automobile designer.[citation needed] The design was not feasible and Citroën turned to other projects.

Citroën founded the

Traction Avant after initial problems improved the sales for the company, and was a great success and was in production apart from during World War II
until 1957.

He died in Paris, France, of stomach cancer in 1935, and was interred in the Montparnasse Cemetery, the funeral being led by the Chief Rabbi of Paris.

Posthumous recognition

On 9 October 1958, while the Motor show was running, the city fathers renamed the Quai de Javel as the "Quai André-Citroën," in recognition of the transformation effected since the city's 15th arrondissement, two generations earlier characterized by market gardening, had been selected by Citroën as the location for Europe's first mass production car plant.[5]

This was the second celebrity name for the street which in 1843 had been baptised "Quai de Javel," in recognition of the chemical factory that had been set up to produce a range of industrial acids, and which later numbered the well known eponymous "Eau de Javel" (bleach) among its products.[5]

In 1992, the

Parc André Citroën public garden in Paris was named after him. It was built on the site of the former automobile manufacturing plant of Citroën, which operated until its closure in the 1970s, and which had been demolished during an eight-year period, between 1976 and 1984.[6] In 1998, André-Citroën was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Reynolds (1997)
  2. ISBN 9781455613298
    .
  3. ^ "het geslacht citroen" (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Mors". Brighton-Early. Archived from the original on 9 December 2004.
  5. ^ a b "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1959 (Salon Paris Oct 1958). 21. Paris: Histoire & collections: 27. 2002.
  6. ^ Pringle-Harris, Ann (2 November 1997). "The 15th, a World of Its Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2008.
  7. ^ "André Citroën". Hall of Fame Inductees. Automotive Hall of Fame. 1998. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

Bibliography

External links

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