1877-1944

French automobile manufacturer who, with his brothers, manufactured racing cars and, during World War I, tanks. Renault continued manufacturing military equipment for the French army and, during the Second World War, for the occupying German forces. This led to his imprisonment after France was liberated, and he died in jail in 1944. Subsequently, the Renault automobile company became one of the largest in Europe and was later nationalized by the French government.