On January 16, 1853, French industrialist André Michelin was born in Paris. Alongside his brother Édouard, André founded the Michelin Tire company in 1888.
Michelin took over his grandfather’s agricultural farm and equipment business, which included rubber products, at age 33. When a cyclist stopped by his business for assistance with a flat tire, Édouard and André were both inspired to create the detachable pneumatic tire for bicycles. This allowed bicyclists to change their flat tires much more simply.
The brothers continued to experiment with tires within the automotive industry. In 1891, Charles Terront won the Paris-Brest-Paris race, the world’s first long-distance cycle race, using Michelin’s bicycle tires. During the 1895 Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race, André and Édouard designed Éclair, a car with the first ever mounted car tires. While Éclair did not win, it still made history as the first car to ride on air.
Michelin, however, is most known for their Michelin guide. The first version of the Michelin guide was published in 1900. The first guide featured restaurants, maps, gas stations, and instructions on tire-changing, and encouraged drivers to visit the places it recommended. In France, 35,000 copies of the first guide were distributed.
In 1926, Michelin began its star rating system for restaurants, and about 10 years later, it introduced a formal three-star ranking. In the ranking, 1-star means the restaurant is very good, 2-stars means excellent cooking and is worth a detour, and 3-stars means exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. Today, a Michelin star is considered the highest recognition a restaurant can receive.
Even after André’s death, Michelin continued to grow. In 1946, engineers at Michelin created the radial tire 15 years after Michelin’s passing. The Citroen Traction Avant, the world’s first mass-produced, front-wheel drive car, used the radial tire for the car line.
In 2002, André and his brother Édouard were recognized for their achievements in the automotive industry by being inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan.
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