Despite nearly two million visitors hiking up and down the newly-opened Eiffel Tower during the great Parisian Centennial Exposition of 1889, Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel was little known outside France during his lifetime. Yet Eiffel – born in Dijon in December 1832 AD – became one of the most famous engineers in civilization, published some 31 books, and was an avid swimmer and fencer until in his 80s. In an age when the sophisticated looked upon engineers with disdain as grubby workmen with dirt under their nails, Eiffel was literate (he had a vast library), cultured, and courteous, able to mix well in any company … be it laborers, academics, or the wealthy.

Getting his professional start with a French firm headed by Charles Nepven, which was eventually bought by a Belgian engineering firm, Eiffel made his mark building bridges, notably the 1600-foot cast iron bridge spanning the Garonne near Bordeaux. He soon moved from bridges to buildings, among others the entrance hall for the Palace des Machines for the 1878 Paris Exposition, for which he developed innovative lightweight (relatively) iron trusses and arches.

Having designed the iron frame for the Statue of Liberty (French officials feared the winds of New York would knock it over), it seemed fated that he would be tapped to build the centerpiece for the great exposition. Although now quite famous in France, a series of scandals forced his resignation in 1893 as chairman of his own company. He built a study in the Eiffel Tower, where for the rest of his life he had time to devote to other interests, among them meteorology and telecommunications. He died peacefully at his home in 1923.