Michel Vieuchange

Michel Vieuchange (26 August 1904, Nevers  –  30 November 1930, Agadir)[1] was a French adventurer who was the first European to visit the abandoned ruins of the walled city of Smara, in the interior of the Sahara.

Through severe hardship he reached his goal and returned to civilization on 16 November at the Moroccan town of Tiznit, almost 400 kilometres (250 mi) from Smara.

In his early twenties, Vieuchange obtained a degree in literature and wrote a first (unpublished) novel Hipparète that showed his fascination for the culture and history of Ancient Greece.

He was also intrigued by the new movie industry and dreamed of becoming a film director after working as an assistant for Abel Gance on Napoléon.

He was highly influenced by such French writers as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, André Gide, and Paul Claudel.