Henri Menier

Who was Henri Menier?

Henri Emile Anatole Menier was a French businessman and adventurer and a member of the Menier family of chocolatiers. Born in Paris, he was the son of Emile-Justin Menier and grandson to Antoine Brutus Menier who founded the Menier Chocolate company. On his father's death in 1881, Henri Menier became mayor of Noisiel, an office he held for 32 years until his death in 1913. The beneficiary of a substantial fortune, and having a large annual income from the family business, Henri Menier spent a great deal of his time and money pursuing various leisure interests, notably yachting and auto racing. As the eldest son, Henri Menier was the titular head of the company but the day-to-day management would mostly be left to his very capable brother Gaston.

A member of the governing council of the Yacht Club de France, Menier studied naval architecture and yacht design. He owned several large sailing and steam powered yachts and journeyed to numerous European ports and with his a group of friends including René Waldeck-Rousseau, sailed north to Iceland and Norway. Menier undertook a three-year-long voyage through the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.