Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer.
The business was successful enough for Catherine Eiffel to sell it in 1843 and retire on the proceeds.
During his second year he chose to specialize in chemistry, and graduated ranking at 13th place out of 80 candidates in 1855.
In 1857 Nepveu negotiated a contract to build a railway bridge over the river Garonne at Bordeaux, connecting the Paris-Bordeaux line to the lines running to Sète and Bayonne, which involved the construction of a iron girder bridge supported by six pairs of masonry piers on the river bed.
Eiffel was initially given the responsibility of assembling the metalwork and eventually took over the management of the entire project from Nepveu, who resigned in March 1860. Following the completion of the project on schedule Eiffel was appointed as the principal engineer of the Compagnie Belge.
Further promotion within the company followed, but the business began to decline, and in 1865 Eiffel, seeing no future there, resigned and set up as an independent consulting engineer.
He was already working independently on the construction of two railway stations, at Toulouse and Agen, and in 1866 he was given a contract to oversee the construction of 33 locomotives for the Egyptian government, a profitable but undemanding job in the course of which he visited Egypt, where he visited the Suez Canal which was being constructed by Ferdinand de Lesseps.
In order to carry out this work, Eiffel and Henri Treca, the director of the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, conducted valuable research on the structural properties of cast iron, definitively establishing the modulus of elasticity applicable to compound castings. == Eiffel et Cie == At the end of 1866 Eiffel managed to borrow enough money to set up his own workshops at 48 Rue Fouquet in Levallois-Perret.
At the same time he was employed by Jean-Baptiste Kranz to assist him in the design of the exhibition hall for the Exposition Universelle which was to be held in 1867.
On-site work began in January 1876 and was complete by the end of October 1877: the bridge was ceremonially opened by King Luís I and Queen Maria Pia, after whom the bridge was named, on 4 November. The Exposition Universelle in 1878 firmly established his reputation as one of the leading engineers of the time.
On-site work began in January 1876 and was complete by the end of October 1877: the bridge was ceremonially opened by King Luís I and Queen Maria Pia, after whom the bridge was named, on 4 November. The Exposition Universelle in 1878 firmly established his reputation as one of the leading engineers of the time.
Due to his mother's business commitments, Gustave spent his childhood living with his grandmother, but nevertheless remained close to his mother, who was to remain an influential figure until her death in 1878.
On-site work began in January 1876 and was complete by the end of October 1877: the bridge was ceremonially opened by King Luís I and Queen Maria Pia, after whom the bridge was named, on 4 November. The Exposition Universelle in 1878 firmly established his reputation as one of the leading engineers of the time.
One of these, a pavilion for the Paris Gas Company, was Eiffel's first collaboration with Stephen Sauvestre, who was later to become the head of the company's architectural office. In 1879 the partnership with Seyrig was dissolved, and the company was renamed the Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel. The same year the company was given the contract for the Garabit viaduct, a railway bridge near Ruynes en Margeride in the Cantal département.
Some work had already been carried out by Eugène Viollet-Le-Duc, but he had died in 1879.
Although the family always used the name Eiffel, Gustave's name was registered at birth as Bonickhausen dit Eiffel, and was not formally changed to Eiffel until 1880. At the time of Gustave's birth his father, an ex-soldier, was working as an administrator for the French Army; but shortly after his birth his mother expanded a charcoal business she had inherited from her parents to include a coal-distribution business, and soon afterwards his father gave up his job to assist her.
A number of different types were produced, ranging from footbridges to standard-gauge railway bridges. In 1881 Eiffel was contacted by Auguste Bartholdi who was in need of an engineer to help him to realise the Statue of Liberty.
This had been patented by Eiffel in 1881. === The Eiffel Tower === The design of the Eiffel Tower was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who had discussed ideas for a centrepiece for the 1889 Exposition Universelle.
In May 1884 Koechlin, working at his home, made an outline drawing of their scheme, described by him as "a great pylon, consisting of four lattice girders standing apart at the base and coming together at the top, joined together by metal trusses at regular intervals".
The design was exhibited at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884, and on 30 March 1885 Eiffel read a paper on the project to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils.
The design was exhibited at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884, and on 30 March 1885 Eiffel read a paper on the project to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils.
The entire statue was erected at the Eiffel works in Paris before being dismantled and shipped to the United States. In 1886 Eiffel also designed the dome for the Astronomical Observatory in Nice.
After discussing the technical problems and emphasising the practical uses of the tower, he finished his talk by saying that the tower would symbolise Little happened until the beginning of 1886, but with the re-election of Jules Grévy as President and his appointment of Edouard Lockroy as Minister for Trade decisions began to be made.
After some debate about the exact site for the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887.
Image:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|21 August 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel8.JPG|March 1889 Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887.
At 2.35 Eiffel hoisted a large tricolour, to the accompaniment of a 25-gun salute fired from the lower level. By June construction had reached the second level platform, and on Bastille Day this was used for a fireworks display, and Eiffel held a celebratory banquet for the press on the first level platform. === The Panama Scandal === In 1887, Eiffel became involved with the French effort to construct a canal across the Panama Isthmus.
Image:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|21 August 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel8.JPG|March 1889 Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887.
After this brief pause erection of the metalwork continued, and the critical operation of linking the four legs was successfully completed by March 1888.
Eiffel had been working on the project for little more than a year when the company suspended payments of interest on 14 December 1888, and shortly afterwards was put into liquidation.
He is best known for the world-famous Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and his contribution to building the Statue of Liberty in New York.
This had been patented by Eiffel in 1881. === The Eiffel Tower === The design of the Eiffel Tower was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, who had discussed ideas for a centrepiece for the 1889 Exposition Universelle.
Image:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887 Image:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|21 August 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888 Image:Construction tour eiffel8.JPG|March 1889 Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887.
In his speech at the presentation of the medal, Alexander Graham Bell said: Eiffel had meteorological measuring equipment placed on the tower in 1889, and also built a weather station at his house in Sèvres.
Between 1892 and 1891 he compiled a complete set of meteorological readings, and later extended his record-taking to include measurements from 25 different locations across France. Eiffel died on 27 December 1923, while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony andante, in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris, France.
Between 1892 and 1891 he compiled a complete set of meteorological readings, and later extended his record-taking to include measurements from 25 different locations across France. Eiffel died on 27 December 1923, while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony andante, in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris, France.
On 9 February 1893 Eiffel was found guilty on the charge of misuse of funds, and was fined 20,000 francs and sentenced to two years in prison, although he was acquitted on appeal.
He then built a laboratory on the Champ de Mars at the foot of the tower in 1905, building his first wind tunnel there in 1909.
He then built a laboratory on the Champ de Mars at the foot of the tower in 1905, building his first wind tunnel there in 1909.
Following complaints about noise from people living nearby, he moved his experiments to a new establishment at Auteuil in 1912.
Here it was possible to build a larger wind tunnel, and Eiffel began to make tests using scale models of aircraft designs. In 1913 Eiffel was awarded the Samuel P.
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer.
Between 1892 and 1891 he compiled a complete set of meteorological readings, and later extended his record-taking to include measurements from 25 different locations across France. Eiffel died on 27 December 1923, while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony andante, in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris, France.
The name was changed to the Anciens Etablissements Eiffel in 1937. == Later career == After his retirement from the Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel, Eiffel went on to do important work in meteorology and aerodynamics.
Actions to protect the bridge were taken as early as 2002 by the "Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel", joined from 2005 onwards by the Association "Sauvons la Passerelle Eiffel" (Save the Eiffel Bridge).
Actions to protect the bridge were taken as early as 2002 by the "Association of the Descendants of Gustave Eiffel", joined from 2005 onwards by the Association "Sauvons la Passerelle Eiffel" (Save the Eiffel Bridge).
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