BIOGRAPHY :
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was born December 15, 1832 in Dijon (France) in a bourgeois family of German origin named Bönnickhausen installed in France in the early seventeenth century. This name is easily pronounceable for the French, the grandfather of Gustave Eiffel Eiffel decided to add his name. In 1879, Gustave Eiffel officially changed its name. Bright student, Gustave Eiffel graduated in chemical engineering in 1855. He worked briefly in this profession, but his encounter with a contractor specializing in steel construction will change the course of his life. Since 1858 he works in construction of a railway bridge in Bordeaux. Then go chaining projects in collaboration with Paul Regnault.

In 1866, Gustave Eiffel up his own company in Champigny-le-Sec, near Paris. It will therefore increase and construction projects around the world: stations in Budapest (Hungary) and La Paz (Bolivia), Santa Rosalia (Mexico), the Long Bien Bridge in Hanoi (Vietnam) Maria Pia bridge in Portugal, etc.. All these titles are Gustave Eiffel's one of the most popular entrepreneurs of his time. In 1883 the government decided to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution, to organize a World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. The France must present the image of a strong nation and projects multiplied to represent the force. Gustave Eiffel, who has taken the idea of two engineers of his company introduced the draft tower. Initially, the idea does not appeal, but Gustave Eiffel will spend money and energy into this project to deliver it. In 1887, construction of the Tour starts. It was completed March 31, 1889. It is the triumph of Gustave Eiffel. Unfortunately, this success will be tarnished by a massive financial scandal surrounding the Panama Canal in 1893. The scandal ruined Gustave Eiffel and he decided to abandon the business to focus solely on the Tour Eiffel. It will install a weather laboratory and a radio transmitter and will do many experiments on the aerodynamics at the top of the summit in Paris. During the First World War, Eiffel Tower is considered by the army as of strategic interest for national defense. This allows Gustave Eiffel continue to enjoy his work until his death December 27, 1923.