Pierre Etienne Bézier, born September 1, 1910 in Paris, died November 25, 1999. He was best known for the Bézier curves he came up with for the French automaker Renault whose employee he was for 42 years, from 1933 till his retirement in 1975. To this day, his curves are the most common way of mathematically representing vector graphics.
He received his degree in mechanical engineering from the École des Arts et Metiers in 1930, and a degree in electrical engineering from the École Superieure d'Electricite only a year later. He waited all the way to 1977 (46 years later) to earn his DSc degree in mathematics from the University of Paris.
Between 1968 and 1979 he was Professor of Production Engineering at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers.