Jean-François Cail
Jean-François Cail (born February 8, 1804 in Chef-Boutonne , Deux-Sèvres , † May 22, 1871 in Plants near Ruffec , Charente ) was a French engineer and entrepreneur.
Cail came from a modest rural background, his father was a sacristan and wheelwright. Since the family could not finance an education, Cail (the third of eight children) had to leave school at the age of nine. He began an apprenticeship as a boilermaker and traveled through France from 1818 to 1824. Then began as a simple worker in a factory (Derosne) for machines for the sugar industry, where he rose quickly. In 1832 it became the Derosne-Cail machine factory and after the death of Charles Derosne in 1846 it became the sole owner. From 1844 he manufactured locomotives in Chaillet. From 1848 on he built Crampton locomotives (under license from Thomas Russell Crampton ), which in 1862 reached an enormous 120 km / h. One of its locomotives in the Railway Museum of Mulhouse to be seen. He also built building structures such as bridges and distilleries for alcohol. The company was a major player in the industrial revolution in France and well known in the 19th century - Jules Verne immortalized it 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as the manufacturer of the Nautilus tanks. During the war of 1870/71 he made his factories available for national defense and built a flour factory for besieged Paris. In 1871 he retired exhausted to Plants, where he died. He is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
His company became the Société française de constructions mécaniques in 1898 and today the Groupe Fives is its successor.
He is one of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower and a street in Paris ( Rue Cail ) and a square and school in Chef-Boutonne is named after him. He became an officer of the Legion of Honor and was also awarded high Belgian ( Order of Leopold ), Dutch ( Order of the Oak Crown ) and Egyptian orders.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cail, Jean-François |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French engineer and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 8, 1804 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chef-Boutonne , Deux-Sèvres |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 22, 1871 |
| Place of death | Plants at Ruffec , Charente |