Étienne Michelin (4 January 1898 – 27 August 1932) was a French industrialist. As the eldest son of Édouard Michelin (1859–1940), there was a strong likelihood that he would take over as head of the Michelin tyre company, where he worked as a member of the top management team. His early death ruled out this possibility, however.

Life

Étienne Maurice Michelin was born at

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

in central southern France. He was born nine years after the founding in the city, by his uncle and father, of the family tyre manufacturing business. In 1921 he married Madeleine Callies (1898-1936), the daughter of an industrialist from

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

. The Michelin family at this time were known for their active advocacy of aviation. A qualified test pilot, Étienne Michelin took off on the late afternoon of 27 August 1932 from the Aulnat Aerodrome at the controls of his 85 hp Morane mono-plane and headed towards the nearby

Chaîne des Puys The Chaîne des Puys (; ) is a north-south oriented chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars in the Massif Central of France. The chain is about 40 km (25 mi) long, and the identified volcanic features, which constitute a volcanic ...

, a group of former volcanoes in the Massif Central.Le Petit Parisien, n° 20270, 28 August 1932 Caught up in a storm, he crashed at

Saint-Genès-Champanelle Saint-Genès-Champanelle (; ) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme departme ...

a short distance from the

Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is far from the edge of any tectonic plate. ...

(lava dome) and was killed in the accident. Press reports at the time suggested that, caught up in thick fog, he had misjudged his altitude. A stone cross marks the spot. His widow died less than four years later: their orphaned son was brought up initially by his grandmother and, subsequently, by a deeply religious widowed aunt at

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michelin, Etienne 1898 births 1932 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Businesspeople from Clermont-Ferrand 20th-century French businesspeople Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1932