Célestin Montcocol (; 26 June 1879 – 27 December 1981) was a French businessman. He built underground constructions and railroad tracks, including some of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...

. He is a co-founder of the

Sainte-Maxime Sainte-Maxime (; Occitan language, Occitan and Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Santa Maxima'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France ...

Golf Club.

Early life

Montcocol was born on 26 June 1879 in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

.Jean-Pierre Jougla, « Célestin Montcocol, 1879-1981 - Notice biographique », Revue d’histoire des chemins de fer

n ligne N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

27 , 2003, mis en ligne le 14 janvier 2015, consulté le 21 juin 2015. URL : http://rhcf.revues.org/1889Sainte-Maxime Trophée Célestin-Montcocol : hommage à un grand monsieur
''Var Matin'', July 13, 2009 He graduated from the École nationale des arts et métiers in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

in 1898.

Career

Montcocol started his career at the

Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris S.A. (Paris Metropolitan Railway Company Ltd.), or CMP, was a subsidiary of the Empain group that is the forerunner of the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, RATP, the company managing ...

. He then joined his father-in-law's construction company. He received a gold medal at the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition for his work. When his father-in-law died in 1912, he became its sole owner. In the 1920s and 1930s, his firm was one of the top three largest construction firms building the

. He also built the sewage system and buildings in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

, and

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

. Additionally, he built railroad tracks for the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

. He acquired sixty-six hectares in

in 1933, with the aim of developing the land. It became the Sainte-Maxime Golf Club thanks to his grandson, Thierry Ménétrel, in 1991. His firm was inactive during World War II. In 1943, he was a co-founder of the Ecole d'Application aux Métiers des Travaux Publics in Egletons. After the war, he revived his construction firm. He built the Sainte-Dévote Tunnel in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. He also built subways in Montréal, Mexico,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. He was a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1934, and an Officer in 1951.

Personal life

He married Emma Labour, the daughter of Victor Labour, a businessman in the construction industry. They had two daughters. One of them, Aline, married

Bernard Ménétrel Bernard Ménétrel (; 22 June 1906 – 31 March 1947) was a French physician and political advisor to Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. He met with Helmut Knochen and tried to negotiate with Charles de Gaulle on Pétain's behalf. Earl ...

, the physician and advisor to Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

during World War II.Alain Frèrejean, 'Bernard Ménétrel, le médecin, l'imminence grise et l'amuseur de Pétain', '' Historia'', no 791, November 2012, pp. 108-112

Death

He died on 27 December 1981. He was 102 years old.

References

1879 births 1981 deaths Businesspeople from Avignon People from Var (department) Paris Métro Officers of the Legion of Honour French men centenarians {{France-business-bio-stub