Marcel Dassault was an aviation pioneer... or should we say Marcel Bloch?

During World War I, Marcel designed a propeller used by French airplanes, as well as the SEA IV fighter plane. After the war, he founded an aircraft company that still exists today. Marcel's family still owes a stake, and it's worth billions.

The company was founded as Societe des Avions Marcel Bloch, but is now known as Dassault Aviation, which brings us back to that pesky name. You see, Marcel, who was spent part of World War II in Buchenwald, was born in a Jewish family as Marcel Bloch, but changed his name after that war.

The origin of the Dassault name is rather fantastic: he took it from the nickname of his brother, Darius, a resistance fighter during the war. It came from "char d'assaut", the French word for tank.

The name change was coupled with a conversion to Catholicism... We usually frown at that, but, considering his story, we'll curb our anguish.