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Gustave Eiffel
1832–1923 · Civil Engineer
A French civil engineer whose company built the Eiffel Tower and whose structural work included the internal support system for the Statue of Liberty.
“There is an attraction and a charm inherent in the colossal that is not subject to ordinary theories of art.”
Why is this scientist famous?
Building the Eiffel Tower with engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier and architect Stephen Sauvestre, and designing the Statue of Liberty's internal iron support structure.
Gustave's story
From Dijon to Paris
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was born in 1832 in Dijon, France, the son of a military administrator. His family name was originally Bonickhausen dit Eiffel, from a German ancestor who had settled in France. As a boy, Eiffel was bright but restless. He attended the Ecole Polytechnique entrance exams but did not place high enough, so he enrolled at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris instead, where he studied chemistry and metallurgy. He graduated in 1855 at the age of twenty-three, just as France was entering a great era of railway building, and the young engineer found himself in the right place at the right time.
Bridges and Iron
Eiffel's first major construction project was a railway bridge over the Garonne River in Bordeaux, which he supervised from 1858 to 1860. He improved an existing compressed-air foundation technique to help build its supports in the riverbed. The completed bridge helped establish his reputation as an engineer who could build structures that were both light and enormously strong. Over the next two decades, Eiffel's company designed bridges, viaducts, and railway stations across Europe and beyond. He developed a design philosophy that relied on sophisticated mathematical calculations to minimise the amount of material needed while maximising strength. His structures were known for their lightness, grace, and economy, qualities that seemed almost contradictory in the heavy iron of the Industrial Age.
The Tower That Changed Paris
In 1884 engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, working for Eiffel's company, developed the original idea for a 300-metre iron tower. Architect Stephen Sauvestre refined its appearance. Eiffel backed the project, acquired rights to the design and became the public figure responsible for constructing the tower for the 1889 Universal Exposition. The design was radical and controversial. Artists and writers signed petitions calling it a hideous monstrosity that would ruin Paris. The Eiffel company won the commission and construction began in 1887. Using 18,000 individual iron pieces and 2.5 million rivets, he completed the tower in just two years, two months, and five days, an astonishing feat of precision engineering. Every piece was prefabricated in his workshops and assembled on site with millimetre accuracy. When it was finished, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world.
Liberty, Panama, and Aerodynamics
Eiffel's achievements went beyond his famous tower. After Eugène Viollet-le-Duc died in 1879, sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi asked Eiffel to take over the Statue of Liberty's structural engineering. Eiffel developed an internal iron support system that allowed the copper skin to move slightly with wind and temperature changes. Eiffel later became involved in the failed French Panama Canal project. He was convicted during the financial scandal surrounding the company, but the judgment against him was later annulled by France's highest court. In 1909 Eiffel opened an experimental wind tunnel near the base of the tower. In 1912 he moved his aerodynamic laboratory to Rue Boileau in Paris, where he continued wind-tunnel research. He died in Paris in 1923, having lived long enough to see his once-reviled tower become the beloved symbol of France.
What did they discover?
The Eiffel Tower
Eiffel's company built the 300-metre tower from a design developed by engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier and refined by architect Stephen Sauvestre. Eiffel backed and directed the project, which was completed for the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition.
Statue of Liberty Framework
After Eugène Viollet-le-Duc died in 1879, sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi asked Eiffel to take over the Statue of Liberty's structural engineering. Eiffel developed an internal iron support system that allowed the copper skin to move slightly with wind and temperature changes.
Portable Bridge Designs
Eiffel developed prefabricated iron bridges that could be transported and assembled quickly, making railway construction possible across difficult terrain in Europe and the colonies.
Aerodynamic Research
In 1909 Eiffel opened a wind tunnel near the base of his tower and moved his aerodynamic laboratory to Rue Boileau in Paris in 1912, where he continued wind-tunnel research.
Amazing facts
Eiffel's family name was originally Bonickhausen dit Eiffel, from a German ancestor who migrated to France in the early 1700s.
The Eiffel Tower was built with 18,000 individual iron pieces and 2.5 million rivets, and was completed in just two years, two months, and five days.
Eiffel opened a wind tunnel near the base of the tower in 1909 and moved his aerodynamic laboratory to Rue Boileau in 1912.
He was convicted during the Panama Canal financial scandal, but the judgment against him was later annulled.
When completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest human-made structure in the world.
Eiffel's company prefabricated every iron piece for the tower in his workshops and assembled them on site with millimetre accuracy, an approach that was revolutionary for its time.
Timeline
Born in Dijon, France
Graduated from the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris
Began supervising construction of the Bordeaux railway bridge over the Garonne; the bridge was completed in 1860.
Founded his own engineering and construction company
Took over the structural engineering of the Statue of Liberty and developed its internal iron support system
Began construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Completed the Eiffel Tower for the Paris Universal Exposition
Opened an experimental wind tunnel near the Eiffel Tower
Moved his aerodynamic laboratory to Rue Boileau in Paris
Died in Paris, age 91
Awards & honours
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