Jacques Cooper, the designer of the very first TGV, has died. He will be remembered as the man who gave the TGV its distinctive silhouette, with its tapered, aerodynamic nose and its first orange livery.
The TGV will become a symbol of national pride regularly brandished by the country's leaders to illustrate France's industrial success. Jacques Cooper will again be responsible for the design of the first high-speed train between Paris and Lyon, which will rely largely on the style of his TGV-001. He was born in 1931 and died at the age of 93 on Wednesday. He also designed tractors and helicopters before specializing in railway equipment "whose exterior design became his great specialty" according to a biography entitled "Cooper, the manwho designed the TNVG's exterior design." He is survived by his wife, two children, and a son-in-law. He had a son and a stepson.