Grave of André Citroën

André Citroën

André-Gustave Citroën (5 February 1878 – 3 July 1935) was a French industrialist. He is remembered chiefly for the make of car named after him, but also for his application of double helical gears.

Life and career

Born in Paris in 1878, André-Gustave was the 5th and last child of Jewish parents, diamond merchant Levie Citroen from the Netherlands and Macha Kleinman (of Warsaw, Poland). He was a cousin of the British philosopher Sir A. J. Ayer (the only son of his aunt Reine).

The Citroen family moved to Paris from Amsterdam in 1873. Upon arrival, the diaeresis was added to the name (reputedly by one of André's teachers), changing Citroen to Citroën (a grandfather had been a greengrocer and seller of tropical fruit, and had taken the surname of Limoenman, literally "lime man", his son however preferred Citroen, Dutch for "lemon").

His father committed suicide when André was six years old (presumably after failure in a business adventure in a diamond mine in South Africa).

It is reputed that the young André 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.

André 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. Also reputed to be the inspiration of the double chevron logo of the Citroën brand.

In 1906 he was installed as a director for the automotive Mors (automobile) company where he was very successful.

During World War I, he was responsible for mass production of armaments.

Citroën founded the Citroën automobile company in 1919, leading it to become the fourth-largest automobile manufacturer in the world by the early 1930s (specifically 1932).

Beside being an able engineer, Citroën was also a gambler, leading to the bankruptcy of his company. The company was taken over by the main creditor Michelin, who had provided tires for the cars.

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

See: wikipedia

Montparnasse Cemetery

Cimetière du Montparnasse is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, part of the city's 14th arrondissement.

History

Created from three farms in 1824, the cemetery at Montparnasse was originally known as Le Cimetière du Sud (Southern Cemetery). Cemeteries had been banned from Paris since the closure, owing to health concerns, of the Cimetière des Innocents in 1786. Several new cemeteries outside the precincts of the capital replaced all the internal Parisian ones in the early 19th century: Montmartre Cemetery in the north, Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, and Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. At the heart of the city, and today sitting in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, is Passy Cemetery.

Notes

Montparnasse Cemetery is the eternal home of many of France's intellectual and artistic elite as well as publishers and others who promoted the works of authors and artists. There are also monuments to police and firefighters killed in the line of duty in the city of Paris. There are also many graves of foreigners who have made France their home.

The cemetery is divided by Rue Émile Richard. The small section is usually referred to as the small cemetery (petit cimetière) and the large section as the big cemetery (grand cimetière).

Because of the many notable people buried there, it is a highly popular tourist attraction.

See: wikipedia