Pierre Dac in Châlons-en-Champagne (51), Marne (51)

Pierre Dac (1893-1975) was born here, 70 Rue de la Marne, and occupied rooms on the first floor (where the plaque is). In a leaflet on Châlons-en-Champagne, the office de tourisme gives this (number one on its list) as the birthplace of Dac. But they don't say anything about him, and how many people today remember (apart from seeing clips on the internet) the vital importance, vital absurdity, for instance, of the Biglotron? (Not to mention the Schmilblik.)

Étienne Œhmichen in Châlons-en-Champagne (51), Marne (51)

'ICI EST NÉ

ETIENNE ŒMICHEN

CRÉATEUR DE L'HÉLICOPTÈRE

LE 15 OCTOBRE 1884'

Œhmichen invented an early version of the helicopter. He's obviously an important international figure, although the Châlons-en-Champagne tourist office doesn't seem to make much of this. They should be exploiting the interest.

Nicolas Appert in Châlons-en-Champagne, Marne (51)

Nicolas Appert was born in Châlons-en-Champagne in 1749 and became a confectioner in Paris in 1784. From 1794 he became involved in the process of conserving foods for a long period by heating them in hermetically sealed containers to eradicate bacteria from them. The process bacame known as appertisation.

Continuing his experiments he from 1815 became the initiator of techniques for conserving wines and milk, later perfected by fermentation by Louis Pasteur. Several times Appert was acknowledged by the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie nationale, although his techniques were advanced by English developers of his technique without any compensation/recognition for Appert and he was buried in an ossuary in 1841.

This monument was erected in 2009.