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History of Andre Michelin
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Creator of the Michelin Guides, it may surprise you
to know that Andr� Michelin was actually a French
industrialist who, together with his brother �douard,
built up the then failing rubber company established
in 1832 by their grandfather, the Michelin Tyre Co.
During the expansion process the company made the
first pneumatic car tyres which could be easily
removed for repair in 1895. As a forward thinking
marketeer, Andr� began thinking of ways to enhance
and encourage motoring tourism and began working of
a free �give-away� promotion aimed at the ever
increasing number of motorists. After all, the more
people who bought and used cars, driving longer
distances, the more tyres his company would sell.
 By
1900 the first Michelin Guide was being given away
with every car sale. Initially for the French
market, it listed a wealth of information for
travellers by car in France including the
whereabouts of petrol stations, information on
repair garages, where to find parts supplies and
where to find toilets, meals and accommodation which
was especially aimed at touring motorists on holiday
in France.
By 1920, the dining part had become so popular that
Michelin set up a team of inspectors who would
anonymously visit restaurants and rate them on a
3-category basis, now known as Michelin Stars.
Although Andr� Michelin died in 1931, his legacy
lived on, with guides being regularly updated and
expanded to cover other countries. Today, Michelin
Guides are known the world over, in particular for
their information about local restaurants.
To read more about the history of the Michelin Star
rating system and what they mean, click the link at
the top of this page.
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