31 Facts Why Gustave Eiffel Is Getting More Popular In The Past Decade

The Eiffel Tower was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel, a French architect, and civil engineer.

Gustave Eiffel was born in 1832 in Dijon, France to Alexandre Bonickhausen dit Eiffel and Catherine Eiffel. He was a civil engineer and architect who went to school in Paris.

He designed and built many famous bridges and structures including the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, Iron Girder Bridge, Garabit Viaduct Railway Bridge, Grand Hotel Traian, Maria Pia Bridge, and many others. Gustave Eiffel Company was named Société des Établissements Eiffel.

The Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. It was the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair, the Paris exhibition, and was the tallest building of its time. In 1940, Hitler ordered the destruction of the tower but thankfully the orders were not followed. The size of the tower changes with the weather as it is entirely made of iron and it is nicknamed 'The Iron Lady'. Almost seven million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year. Originally, Eiffel Tower was supposed to be built in Barcelona but later it was built in Paris.

Reasons For Building The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was made by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. He was a French architect and engineer who owned the firm, Eiffel et Compagnie. The reasons for building the Eiffel Tower are given down below:

• It was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The French Revolution was a movement to change the relationship between the political rulers and the common people. It started in 1789.
• The Eiffel Tower was made for the World’s Fair of 1889 that took place in Paris. It was the perfect entrance into the fair.
• The Eiffel Tower was built to symbolize modern architecture.
• According to Gustave Eiffel, it represented the gratitude of France.
• The French wanted to make the tallest building of that time.

Key Details About Gustave Eiffel

Below are some Gustave Eiffel fun facts along with some lesser-known Gustave Eiffel family facts: -

• Alexander Gustave Bonickhausen dit Eiffel was born on December 15, 1832, in Dijon in France.
• He was a civil engineer and graduated from Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures.
• After his retirement, he researched meteorology and aerodynamics.
• Some of his famous works include Porto Viaduct over Douro river (1876), Pest Railway Station In Hungary, Garabit Viaduct (1884), Statue Of Liberty, Nice Observatory Dome, and Eiffel Tower (1889).
• Gustave Eiffel married Marguerite Gaudelet in 1862.
• Gustave had five children- two sons and three daughters.
• After building the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel also got roped in the Panama scandal.
• He died at the age of 91 on December 27, 1923.

Gustave Eiffel’s Early Life

Gustave Eiffel is widely regarded as a legend of his time where he heralded the construction of some of the most magnificent structures of France at the time. But not a lot is known about his early life. Here we are sharing some interesting facts about Gustave Eiffel and his early life.

• His place of birth was Dijon in France and the date of birth was December 15, 1832.
• His full name was Alexandre Gustave Bonickhausen dit Eiffel.
• He was born to Alexandre Bonickhausen dit Eiffel and Catherine-Mélanie as their eldest son. He had two siblings- Marie Boenickhausen-Eiffel and Laure Boenickhausen-Eiffel.
• His parents were involved in the business of charcoal. Due to this, for a large part of his younger years, he lived in the company of his grandmother.
• He did his schooling at Lycée Royal which is a famous school in Dijon.
• He was not very good at studies but at school, he was motivated by his history and literature teachers during the final years of his education.
• He studied hard and got a baccalaureate in humanities and science.
• Gustave was taught about chemistry, mining, theology, and philosophy by Michel Perret and Jean Baptiste Mollerat. Jean Baptiste Mollerat was his uncle and invented the process of distilled vinegar. Michel Perret was a chemist and his uncle’s friend.
• Gustave went to college in Paris where he attended College Sainte-Barbe. He qualified for prestigious engineering colleges- Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures.
• He graduated in 1885 with the 13th position.
• A railway engineer by the name of Charles Nepveu, gave Gustave his initial job but the company sadly went bankrupt.
• Some of the business was acquired by Compagnie Belge de Matériels de Chemin de Fer and Nepveu got appointed as managing director. Gustave Eiffel was also appointed.
• He worked on various projects during this time.
• In 1862, Gustave got married to Marguerite Gaudelet. He had five kids- Albert Eiffel, Claire Eiffel, Edouard Eiffel, Laure Eiffel, and Valentine Eiffel.
• In 1866, Eiffel set up his workshop in Levallois-Perret. They got various projects from countries like Africa, Peru, and others.
• In 1868, he established Eiffel et Cie with Theophile Seyrig. Their partnership ended in 1879. Gustave renamed the company Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel.
• In 1881, he got the project to design the Statue of Liberty by Auguste Bartholdi.
• He began working on the Eiffel Tower in 1887. It took a couple of years to construct the Eiffel Tower.

Gustave Eiffel’s Later Life

Some of the details of the later life of Gustave Eiffel are mentioned down below.

• In 1887, Gustave Eiffel was given the contract to create locks that will be used on the Panama Canal.
• He got involved in the Panama Scandal and was charged with the mishandling of funds. He was accused by the French Panama Canal Company, which was headed at that time by Ferdinand De Lesseps and his son.
• In the year 1893, he was sentenced to a couple of years in prison. He was also fined 20,000 francs after appealing at Cour de Cassation; he was released from all charges.
• After retiring from Compagnie des Establissements Eiffel, he went on to research meteorology and aerodynamics.
• He was interested in these subjects because of the issues faced by his structures due to wind.
• In 1905, he built Champ de Mars, a laboratory, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower because he wanted to demonstrate the usefulness of the tower.
• In 1909, he built a wind tunnel at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower to carry out his experiments.
• He wrote a book on aerodynamics known as 'Resistance of Air and Aviation'.
• He died on December 27, 1923, in Paris, France. He was 91 years old.