Editing Marcel Dassault

{{Short description|French aircraft industrialist (1892–1986)}}
{{for|the World War I flying ace|Marcel Bloch (aviator)}}
{{Infobox person
| name            = Marcel Dassault
| birth_name      = Marcel Ferdinand Bloch<ref name=Mayet>{{cite book|author=Jean Mayet|title=365 jours ou Les Éphémérides allant du XVIe au XXe siècle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emaWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA220|date=19 September 2013|publisher=Mon Petit Éditeur|language=French|isbn=978-2-342-01183-8|page=220}}</ref>
| image           = Dassault, Marcel - 4728420593.jpg
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1892|01|23|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [[9th arrondissement of Paris]], France
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1986|4|17|1892|1|22|df=y}}
| death_place     = [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]], France
| resting_place   = [[Passy Cemetery]], Paris
| education       = [[Lycée Condorcet]]
| alma_mater      = [[École Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électronique et Électrotechnique|Breguet School]]{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} <br> [[Supaéro]]
| occupation      = Engineer and industrialist 
| awards          = [[Daniel Guggenheim Medal]] (1976)
| spouse          = [[Madeleine Dassault|Madeleine Minckès]]
| children        = Claude Dassault<br>[[Serge Dassault]]
| relatives       = [[Darius Paul Dassault]] (brother)
}}
'''Marcel Dassault''' ({{IPA|fr|maʁsɛl daso}}; born '''Marcel Ferdinand Bloch''';<ref name=Mayet/> 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in [[Aerospace manufacturer|aircraft manufacturing]]. He was also involved in politics, serving intermittently over more than three decades in both houses of the [[French Parliament]] from 1951 until his death in 1986.

==Early life and education==
Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, as the youngest of the four children of Adolphe Bloch, a doctor, and his wife Noémie Allatini.{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}}<ref name="Biography">{{cite web |url=https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/history/men/marcel-dassault/ |title=Biography of Marcel Dassault |work=Dassault Aviation |accessdate=2021-03-10}}</ref> His parents were Jewish.

He was educated at the [[Lycée Condorcet]] in Paris. After studies in [[electrical engineering]],{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} he graduated from the [[École Supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Électronique et Électrotechnique|Breguet School]] and [[Supaéro]]. At the latter school, Bloch was classmates with a Russian student named [[Mikhail Gurevich (aircraft designer)|Mikhail Gurevich]], who would later become instrumental in the creation of the [[Mikoyan|MiG aircraft series]].{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}}

==Career==
[[File:Dassault Marcel.jpg|thumb|left|Marcel Bloch, {{circa}} 1912]]
Bloch worked at the French Aeronautics Research Laboratory at [[Chalais-Meudon]]{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} during [[World War I]] and invented a type of [[Propeller (aircraft)|aircraft propeller]] subsequently used by the French army during the conflict. In 1916, with [[Henry Potez]] and Louis Coroller, he formed a company, the ''[[Société d'Études Aéronautiques]]'', to produce the SEA series of fighters.<ref name="Gunston">{{cite book |last1=Gunston |first1=Bill |title=World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers |date=2005 |publisher=Sutton Publishing |location=Stroud, UK |isbn=0-7509-3981-8 |page=371 |edition=2nd}}</ref>

In 1928, Bloch founded the aircraft company ''[[Société des Avions Marcel Bloch]]'', which produced its first aircraft in 1930.{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} In 1935, Bloch and [[Henry Potez]] entered into an agreement to buy ''[[Société Aérienne Bordelaise]]'' (SAB).{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} In 1936, the company was [[nationalization|nationalized]] as the ''[[Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud Ouest]]'' (SNCASO). Bloch agreed to become the delegated administrator of the Minister for Air.<ref name=FundingUniverse/>

During the [[occupation of France]] by [[Nazi Germany]] during World War II, France's aviation industry was virtually disbanded,<ref>Dassault Aviation ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060311085725/http://www.dassault-aviation.com/passion/gb/dassault_a_a_z/histoire_aviation/1916_1945/1916_1945_d.cfm History, 1916 to this day: During the War]''. Accessed 5 January 2006.</ref> other than the compulsory manufacturing, assembly, and servicing of German designs. In October 1940, Bloch refused to collaborate with the German occupiers at [[Bordeaux-Aéronautique]] and was imprisoned by the [[Vichy government]].

In 1944, the Nazis deported Bloch to the [[Buchenwald concentration camp]],{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} as punishment for refusing to co-operate with their regime. He was tortured, beaten, and held in solitary confinement. In the meantime, his wife was interned near Paris. Bloch was detained at Buchenwald until it was liberated on 11 April 1945. By the time of his return to Paris, he was disabled to such an extent that he could barely walk. He was advised by his doctors to settle his affairs, as they did not expect him to recover his health.{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}}

After the war, he changed his name from Bloch to Bloch-Dassault and in 1949 to Dassault. This name derived from 'Chardasso', the ''[[nom de guerre]]'' used by his brother, General [[Darius Paul Bloch]], when he served in the [[French Resistance]].{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}} The pseudonym was a play on ''char d'assaut'', French for "assault tank".<ref group="note">''Char d'assault'' colloquially means "battle tank" in French, but a word-for-word translation would be "assault wagon". ''D'assault'' simply means "for assault" or "for attack".</ref> In 1971, Dassault acquired Breguet, forming ''Avions Marcel Dassault–Breguet Aviation'' (AMD–BA).

== Personal life ==
[[File:Hôtel Marcel Dassault 01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hôtel Marcel Dassault]] in Paris]]
In 1919, Bloch married [[Madeleine Dassault|Madeleine Minckès]], the daughter of a wealthy Jewish family of furniture dealers.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19640525&id=mZxjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Se0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4860,4166661 Madame a Prisoner Before], ''Ottawa Citizen'', May 25, 1964.</ref> They had two sons, Claude and [[Serge Dassault|Serge]]. After changing his name to Dassault, he converted to [[the Roman Catholic Church]] in 1950.<ref name=FundingUniverse/><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/152095/Marcel-Dassault Britannica Online: Marcel Dassault] retrieved February 23, 2012</ref>{{sfn|Aloni|2010|p=8}}

In July 1952, Dassault acquired the Paris landmark buildings now known as [[Hôtel Marcel Dassault]], dating from 1844,<ref name=lefig>
{{
cite web
 | title= Hôtel Dassault-Artcurial
 | website= Evene.fr
 | url= http://evene.lefigaro.fr/culture/lieux/hotel-dassault-artcurial-5827.php
}}
</ref>
at nos. 7 and 9 rond-point des Champs-Élysées (at the corner of the avenue des Champs-Élysées and [[avenue Montaigne]]), from the [[Sabatier]] d'Espeyran family.<ref>The structure at no. 7, built in 1844, was altered over the years, including work by Dassault's friend, architect [[Georges Hennequin]] (1893—1969). The neo-[[Louis XV style]] domicile at no. 7, known previously as the Hôtel d'Espeyran, was built by architect Henri Parent for Félicie Durand 1819-1899, the widow of Frédéric Sabatier d'Espeyran 1813-1864.</ref> The building at no. 7 has been used since 2002 by the auction house [[Artcurial]], which had further alterations made under the direction of architect [[Jean-Michel Wilmotte]].<ref name=lefig/> While no. 7 has been sold, no. 9  is still used by the ''Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault''.
[[File:1930 Marcel Dassault.jpg|thumb|[[Autochrome Lumière|Autochrome]] by Georges Chevalier, 1930]]
In 1973, Dassault was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>

==Death and legacy==
[[File:Tombe Dassault.JPG|thumb|right|Grave of Marcel Dassault in Paris]]
Dassault died at [[Neuilly-sur-Seine]] in 1986 and was buried at the [[Passy Cemetery]] in the [[16th arrondissement of Paris]].

[[Serge Dassault]], Marcel's younger son, became CEO of ''Avions Marcel Dassault'', which was restructured as ''[[Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault]]'', reflecting its broader interests. In 1990, the aviation division was renamed [[Dassault Aviation]].

In 1991, the ''[[traffic circle|rond-point]] des [[Champs-Elysées]]'' in Paris was renamed the ''rond-point des Champs-Elysées-Marcel-Dassault'' in his honour.

==In popular culture==
In ''[[The Adventures of Tintin]]'' book ''[[Flight 714 to Sydney]]'', Dassault is parodied as the aircraft construction tycoon [[Laszlo Carreidas]] – "the millionaire who never laughs" – who offers Tintin, [[Captain Haddock]] and [[Professor Calculus]] his personal jet, the Carreidas 160, to travel to Sydney.<ref>{{cite book|title=Tintin: Hergé and His Creation|year=2011|publisher=John Murray (Publishers) An Hachette UK Company|isbn=978-1-84854-673-8}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Vathaire affair]], 1970s French politico-financial scandal

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Aloni |first=Shlomo |title=Mirage III vs MiG-21: Six Day War 1967 (Duel) |date=2010 | isbn = 9781846039478}}
{{refend}}

{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=FundingUniverse>{{cite web|title=History of Groupe Dassault Aviation|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/groupe-dassault-aviation-sa-history/|access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Marcel Dassault}}
* [https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/passion/history/men/marcel-dassault/ Marcel Dassault biography] – Dassault Aviation website

{{Dassault Group}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dassault, Marcel}}
[[Category:Marcel Dassault| ]]
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