orig. Marcel Bloch
born Jan. 22, 1892, Paris, France
died April 18, 1986, Paris
French aircraft designer and industrialist.
He designed aircraft during World War I, and in 1930 he started his own company to build military and civilian airplanes. Sent to Buchenwald as a Jew during World War II, he later changed his last name (to that of his brother's byname in the Resistance) and resumed his business. His company produced Europe's first supersonic plane, the Mystère, and in 1956 began production of the Mirage warplane, which would be acquired by countries worldwide.