Civil engineer, born in Dijon, E France. He designed several notable bridges and viaducts, before working on his most famous project, the Eiffel Tower. He also designed the steel framework of the Statue of Liberty, NY, and built the first aerodynamics laboratory, near Paris. In 1893 he was imprisoned for two years and fined for breach of trust in connection with the Panama Canal.
He is famous for designing the Eiffel Tower, built 1887-1889 for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France, and the armature for the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, USA.Early life
Eiffel was born in Dijon, Côte-d'Or, France. However, a family dispute over the quality of the rubber removed that opportunity, and Eiffel soon accepted entry-level employment with a company that designed railway bridges.
Charles Nepveu provided Eiffel with his first job as one of many project managers for a railway bridge located in France. During the construction process, fellow engineers on the project were steadily quitting, and Eiffel eventually took charge of the entire project. Nepveu saw the work that Eiffel performed on the site, and continued to place Eiffel in other jobs that involved project management of railway bridges and structures. During these projects, Eiffel got to know other engineers of the time, and he would be remembered for his work and allowed to work on other projects. Without the influence of Nepveu and the opportunity to ride on his coattails, Eiffel might not have been as successful as he became.
Career
Eiffel et Cie., Eiffel's consulting and construction firm, with the support of Belgian engineer Téophile Seyrig, participated in an international bid to design and build a 160-m long railway bridge over the Douro river, between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Gustave Eiffel also designed La Ruche in Paris. This, like the Eiffel Tower, became a city landmark. The only structure in the Americas designed by Eiffel is the lighthouse located on Mona Island, Puerto Rico.
In 1887, Eiffel became involved with the French effort to construct a Panama Canal. An elevated, lock-based canal was chosen as the new design, and Eiffel was enlisted to design and build the locks. Eiffel's reputation suffered a severe setback when he was implicated in the financial scandals surrounding de Lesseps and the entrepreneurs backing the project. Eiffel himself had no connection with the finances, and his guilty judgment was later reversed. However, his work was never realised, as the later American effort to build a canal used new lock designs (see History of the Panama Canal).
In his later years Eiffel began to study aerodynamics.
Eiffel died on December 27, 1923 in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris.
Impact
The bridges that he designed were constructed all over the world. Many of Eiffel's bridges did not require skilled workers for assembly, which made his bridges a great economical choice.
The Eiffel Tower had a huge impact on France. Nearly two million people visited the Eiffel Tower in 1889 alone. After originally being thought of as an eyesore (it was actually designed to be torn down easily after the end of the Exposition), the tower quickly became a national symbol of France and brought a sense of pride to the people who live there. Eiffel's design for the interior structural elements of the statue allowed for the statue to become a reality. Several Americans living in France were pleased by the gift to their country and in turn, built a ¼ scale bronze model which stands approximately 2km north of the Eiffel Tower.
Famous Buildings and Structures
Eiffel Tower Statue of Liberty Nice Observatory Eiffel Market or Mercado Adolpho Lisboa San Sebastian Church, Manila, PhilippinesFamous Bridges
Maria Pia Bridge (Porto Viaduct) Garabit Viaduct Souleuvre Viaduct Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi, VietnamOther Works
Viaduct over the Sioule river (1867) Viaduct at Neuvial (1867) Notre Dame des Champs, Paris (1868) Swing bridge at Dieppe (1870) Gasworks of La Paz, Bolivia Church at Tacna, Peru (1875) Hotel Traian, at Iaşi, Romania (1884) Konak Pier, at Izmir, Turkey (1890) Estación Central (main train station), Santiago, Chile (1897) Bridge over the Tisza near Szeged, Hungary The framework of the Western Train station in Budapest, Hungary Mona Island Lighthouse at Mona Island, Puerto Rico Plaza del Mercado (local produce market) at Mayagüez, Puerto RicoTrivia
Gustave's great-great-grandson, Savin Yeatman-Eiffel founded the independent animation company Sav! Further, in commemoration, his company's logo features the Eiffel Tower on a globe of the Earth.
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