Gustave Eiffel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel
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| Born | December 15, 1832 |
| Died | December 27, 1923 (aged 91) Rue Rabelais, Paris, France
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| Nationality | French |
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born December 15, 1832 – died December 27, 1923) was a French engineer and architect. He was an expert in building with metal. He is most famous for designing the Eiffel Tower. He also designed the metal frame inside the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
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Gustave Eiffel's Early Life
Gustave Eiffel was born in Dijon, France. His family's last name, Eiffel, came from a German ancestor. They took the name from their hometown, Marmagen, in the Eifel region. This was because the French found their original name, Bönickhausen, hard to say.
Gustave's mother had a successful coal business. This gave the family enough money for Gustave to study. He went to the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris to study chemistry.
After college, Gustave planned to take over his uncle's factory. This factory made rubber cat-nip mice. But a family argument about the rubber quality changed his plans. Instead, he started working for a company that designed railroad bridges.
A man named Charles Nepveu hired Eiffel as a project manager. This was for a train bridge in France. Many engineers quit during the building process. Gustave Eiffel eventually took charge of the whole project. Nepveu was very impressed with Eiffel's work. He gave him more jobs. During this time, Eiffel met other engineers. He made a good impression on them too.
Gustave Eiffel's Career and Famous Works
Gustave Eiffel started his own company, Eiffel et Cie.. With help from a Belgian engineer named Téophile Seyrig, his company won a big international competition. They were chosen to design and build a 525-foot-long (160 m) railroad bridge. This bridge would go over the Douro river in Portugal.
The bridge, called the Ponte Maria Pia, was a special kind of arch bridge. It supported one train track. Some strong pillars helped make the bridge even stronger. It was built very quickly, in less than two years. The bridge was used until 1991.
Gustave Eiffel also designed La Ruche in Paris. Like the Eiffel Tower, this building became a famous landmark in the city. The only structure Eiffel designed in the Americas is a lighthouse. It is on Mona Island in Puerto Rico. The United States built this lighthouse around 1900. It was used until 1976.
In his later years, Eiffel became very interested in how wind affects structures. This is called aerodynamics. He also studied meteorology, which is the study of weather. He even built a wind tunnel at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. He used it for his experiments.
Eiffel passed away on December 27, 1923, in his home in Paris. He was buried in the Cimetière de Levallois-Perret.
Gustave Eiffel's Impact on the World
The structures Gustave Eiffel designed were very important. They had a big impact on society, economy, and politics around the world. These include his bridges, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty.
His bridges were built all over the world. They made travel and trade easier and faster. Many of Eiffel's bridges did not need highly skilled workers to put them together. This made them a good and affordable choice for many places.
The Eiffel Tower had a huge impact on France. It was the main attraction at the World's Fair in 1889. Millions of people came to Paris to see it. Almost two million people visited the tower in 1889 alone. The tower quickly became a popular tourist spot. It brought a lot of money into France's economy. At first, some people thought it was ugly. It was even designed to be taken down easily after the Fair. But the tower quickly became a national symbol of France. It gave people a great sense of pride.
The Statue of Liberty was a special gift from France to the United States. Eiffel's design for the statue's metal frame made it possible to build. The statue showed the strong friendship and respect between France and the United States. The Statue of Liberty quickly became a national symbol of freedom in the United States. It also gave Americans a sense of pride. The statue became a huge tourist attraction. It brought many visitors to New York, which helped their economy. Some Americans living in France were so happy about the gift. They built a smaller, bronze model of the statue. It stands about 1.24 miles (2 km) north of the Eiffel Tower.
Gustave Eiffel's Famous Quotes
- "She is more famous than I am." (Eiffel was talking about the Statue of Liberty.)
- "Can one think that because we are engineers, beauty does not preoccupy us or that we do not try to build beautiful, as well as solid and long lasting structures?"
- "The French flag is the only one to have a staff a thousand feet tall." (Eiffel was talking about the flag at the top of the Eiffel Tower).
Fun Facts About Gustave Eiffel
- Eiffel's full name was Alexandre Gustave Bonickhausen dit Eiffel.
- Gustave's parents were very busy with their coal business. So, his grandmother raised him.
- His uncle, Jean Baptiste Mollerat, invented a way to make vinegar by distilling.
- He graduated 13th out of 80 students from the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1855.
- In 1862, he married Marie Gaudelet. They had five children before she passed away in 1877.
- Gustave loved designing bridges the most.
- The Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate 100 years since the French Revolution.
- About 6.9 million people visit the Eiffel Tower every year.
- Gustave started studying aerodynamics and meteorology because he saw how wind affected his designs.
- He wrote a book about aerodynamics called Resistance of Air and Aviation.
- It is said that Gustave died while listening to Beethoven's fifth symphony.
Famous Buildings Designed by Eiffel
- Eiffel Tower
- Statue of Liberty
- Nice Observatory
- Eiffel Market or Mercado Adolpho Lisboa
- San Sebastian Church, Manila, Philippines
Famous Bridges Designed by Eiffel
Other Works by Eiffel
- 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)
- Estación Central (main train station), Santiago, Chile (1897)
- Bridge over the Tisza near Szeged, Hungary
- Mona Island Lighthouse at Mona Island, Puerto Rico
- Plaza del Mercado (local produce market) at Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Images for kids
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The Bordeaux bridge, Eiffel's first major work
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The Budapest Nyugati railroad station
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The Maria Pia Bridge
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Interior structural elements of the Statue of Liberty designed by Gustave Eiffel
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Koechlin's first drawing for the Eiffel Tower. Note the sketched stack of buildings, with Notre Dame at the bottom, indicating the scale of the proposed tower.
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Caricature of Eiffel, published in 1887 at the time of "The Artist's Protest"
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Eiffel in 1910
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Edward Moran's 1886 painting, The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, depicts the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty.
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Cathedral of San Pedro de Tacna, Peru
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The "Grand Hotel Traian" in Iaşi, is Gustave Eiffel's link to Romania.
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Konak Pier in İzmir, Turkey, designed by Gustave Eiffel
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La Paz bus station
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Eiffel bridge in Caminha, Portugal
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Belvárosi Bridge in Szeged
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Eiffel Bridge in Sarajevo 1893, also known as Skenderija Bridge, spans the Miljacka.
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18 July 1887
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7 December 1887
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20 March 1888
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15 May 1888
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21 August 1888
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26 December 1888
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March 1889
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See also
In Spanish: Gustave Eiffel para niños
