André-Gustave Citroën (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,[1][2] diamond merchant Levie Citroen and Masza Amelia Kleinman. He was a cousin of the British philosopher Sir A. J. Ayer (the only son of his aunt Reine).
The Citroen family descended from a grandfather in the Netherlands who had been a greengrocer and seller of tropical fruit, and had taken the surname of Limoenman, Dutch for "lime man"; his son however changed it to Citroen, which in Dutch means "lemon". In 1873 the family moved to Paris; upon arrival, the French tréma was added to the surname (reputedly by one of André's teachers), changing Citroen to Citroën.[3]