List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

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Eiffel Tower (72 names).jpg
 
The location of the names on the tower

On the Eiffel Tower, 72 names of French men (scientists, engineers, and mathematicians) are engraved in recognition of their contributions. [1] Gustave Eiffel chose this "invocation of science" because of his concern over the protests against the tower, and chose names of those who had distinguished themselves since 1789. [2] The engravings are found on the sides of the tower under the first balcony, in letters about 60 cm (24 in) tall, and were originally painted in gold. The engraving was painted over at the beginning of the 20th century and restored in 1986–87 by Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, the company that the city of Paris contracts to operate the Tower. The repainting of 2010–11 restored the letters to their original gold colour. There are also names of the engineers who helped build the Tower and design its architecture on a plaque on the top of the Tower, where a laboratory was built as well.[ citation needed ]

Contents

List

Location

The list is split in four parts (one for each side of the tower). The sides have been named after the parts of Paris that each side faces:

Names

In the table below are all the names on the four sides.

Name appearingFull nameOccupationLocationPortrait
SEGUIN Marc Seguin engineer
NW01
Seguin.jpg
LALANDE Jérôme Lalande astronomer
NW02
Jerome Lalande.jpg
TRESCA Henri Tresca engineer and mechanic
NW03
69-Tresca.jpg
PONCELET Jean-Victor Poncelet geometer
NW04
Jean-Victor Poncelet.jpg
BRESSE Jacques Antoine Charles Bresse civil engineer and hydraulic engineer
NW05
JAC BRESSE.jpg
LAGRANGE Joseph-Louis Lagrange mathematician
NW06
Joseph-Louis Lagrange.jpeg
BELANGER Jean-Baptiste-Charles-Joseph Bélanger mathematician and hydraulic engineer
NW07
Jean-Baptiste Belanger.png
CUVIER Georges Cuvier naturalist
NW08
Georges Cuvier large.jpg
LAPLACE Pierre-Simon Laplace mathematician and astronomer
NW09
Pierre-Simon Laplace.jpg
DULONG Pierre Louis Dulong physicist and chemist
NW10
Pierre Louis Dulong.jpg
CHASLES Michel Chasles geometer
NW11
Michel Chasles.jpg
LAVOISIER Antoine Lavoisier chemist
NW12
Antoine lavoisier.jpg
AMPERE André-Marie Ampère mathematician and physicist
NW13
Ampere1.jpg
CHEVREUL Michel Eugène Chevreul chemist
NW14
Michel Eugene Chevreul.jpg
FLACHAT Eugène Flachat civil engineer
NW15
Flachat.png
NAVIER Claude-Louis Marie Henri Navier mathematician
NW16
Claude-Louis Navier.jpg
LEGENDRE Adrien-Marie Legendre mathematician
NW17
Legendre.jpg
CHAPTAL Jean-Antoine Chaptal agronomist and chemist
NW18
Jean-Antoine Chaptal 1.jpg
JAMIN Jules Jamin physicist
SW01
Jules Celestin Jamin.jpg
GAY-LUSSAC Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac chemist
SW02
Gaylussac.jpg
FIZEAU Hippolyte Fizeau physicist
SW03
Hippolyte Fizeau.jpg
SCHNEIDER Eugène Schneider industrialist
SW04
Schneider, Eugene.jpg
LE CHATELIER Louis Le Chatelier engineer
SW05
Louis Le Chatelier.jpg
BERTHIER Pierre Berthier mineralogist
SW06
Pierre Berthier.jpg
BARRAL Jean-Augustin Barral agronomist, chemist, physicist
SW07
Barral.png
DE DION Henri de Dion [a] engineer
SW08
Henri de Dion.jpg
GOUIN Ernest Goüin engineer and industrialist
SW09
Ernest Gouin.jpg
JOUSSELIN Louis Didier Jousselin engineer
SW10
Louis Jousselin (1776-1858). Ingeniero.jpg
BROCA Paul Broca physician and anthropologist
SW11
Paul Broca.jpg
BECQUEREL Antoine César Becquerel physicist
SW12
Antoine Becquerel 2.jpg
CORIOLIS Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis engineer and scientist
SW13
Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis.jpg
CAIL Jean-François Cail industrialist
SW14
Jean Francois Cail.jpg
TRIGER Jacques Triger engineer
SW15
Jules Triger.jpg
GIFFARD Henri Giffard engineer
SW16
Giffard portrait 1 200.jpg
PERRIER François Perrier geographer and mathematician
SW17
Francois Perrier - Project Gutenberg eText 16671.png
STURM Jacques Charles François Sturm mathematician
SW18
Charles Sturm.jpeg
CAUCHY Augustin-Louis Cauchy mathematician
SE01
Cauchy Augustin Louis dibner coll SIL14-C2-03a.jpg
BELGRAND Eugène Belgrand engineer
SE02
Eugene Belgrand.jpg
REGNAULT Henri Victor Regnault chemist and physicist
SE03
Henri Victor Regnault.jpg
FRESNEL Augustin-Jean Fresnel civil engineer and physicist
SE04
Augustin Fresnel.jpg
DE PRONY Gaspard de Prony engineer
SE05
Gaspard de Prony.jpg
VICAT Louis Vicat engineer
SE06
LouisVicatJ.JPG
EBELMEN Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen chemist
SE07
Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen.jpg
COULOMB Charles-Augustin de Coulomb physicist
SE08
Coulomb.jpg
POINSOT Louis Poinsot mathematician
SE09
Pointsot2.jpg
FOUCAULT Léon Foucault physicist
SE10
Foucault 01.png
DELAUNAY Charles-Eugène Delaunay astronomer
SE11
Charles Eugene Delaunay.jpeg
MORIN Arthur Morin mathematician and physicist
SE12
Morin.png
HAUY René Just Haüy mineralogist
SE13
Rene just hauy.jpg
COMBES Charles Combes engineer and metallurgist
SE14
CPM Combes.jpg
THENARD Louis Jacques Thénard chemist
SE15
Louis Jacques Thenard.jpg
ARAGO François Arago astronomer and physicist
SE16
Francois Arago.jpg
POISSON Siméon Denis Poisson mathematician and physicist
SE17
SimeonDenisPoisson.jpg
MONGE Gaspard Monge geometer
SE18
Gaspard Monge.jpg
PETIET Jules Petiet engineer
NE01
Jules Petiet.png
DAGUERRE Louis Daguerre artist and chemist
NE02
Jean-Babtiste Sabarier-Blot L.J.M.Daguerre.1844.JPG
WURTZ Charles-Adolphe Wurtz chemist
NE03
Wurtz Charles-Adolphe.jpg
LE VERRIER Urbain Le Verrier astronomer
NE04
Urbain Le Verrier.jpg
PERDONNET Albert Auguste Perdonnet engineer
NE05
Auguste Perdonnet.png
DELAMBRE Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre astronomer
NE06
Delambre Jean Baptiste Joseph Dibner coll smithsonian SIL14-D2-17a.jpg
MALUS Étienne-Louis Malus physicist
NE07
Etienne-Louis Malus.jpg
BREGUET Louis Breguet physicist and inventor
NE08
Breguet, Louis-Francois, Nadar, Gallica.jpg
POLONCEAU Camille Polonceau engineer
NE09
Camille-Polonceau.jpg
DUMAS Jean-Baptiste Dumas chemist
NE10
Jean Baptiste Andre Dumas.jpg
CLAPEYRON Émile Clapeyron engineer and physicist
NE11
Benoit Clapeyron.png
BORDA Jean-Charles de Borda mathematician
NE12
Jean Charles Borda.jpg
FOURIER Joseph Fourier mathematician
NE13
Joseph Fourier.jpg
BICHAT Marie François Xavier Bichat anatomist and physiologist
NE14
Marie Francois Xavier Bichat.jpg
SAUVAGE François Clément Sauvage engineer and geologist
NE15
Francois-Clement Sauvage-portrait-D.jpg
PELOUZE Théophile-Jules Pelouze chemist
NE16
Theophile-Jules Pelouze.jpg
CARNOT Lazare Carnot [b] mathematician
NE17
Portrait Lazare Carnot.jpg
LAME Gabriel Lamé mathematician
NE18
Gabriel-Lame.jpeg

Criticism

Women

The list contains no women. The list has been criticized for excluding the name of Sophie Germain, a noted French mathematician whose work on the theory of elasticity was used in the construction of the tower itself. [3] In 1913, John Augustine Zahm suggested that Germain was excluded because she was a woman. [4]

Hydraulic engineers and scholars

Fourteen hydraulic engineers and scholars are listed on the Eiffel Tower. Eiffel acknowledged most of the leading scientists in the field. Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy is missing; some of his work did not come into wide use until the 20th century. Also missing are Antoine Chézy, who was less famous;[ citation needed ] Joseph Valentin Boussinesq, who was early in his career at the time; [5] and mathematician Évariste Galois. Other famous French mathematicians are missing from the list: Joseph Liouville and Charles Hermite.

Notes

  1. not to be confused with Jules-Albert de Dion, automobile pioneer
  2. not to be confused with Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, his son

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References

  1. "The 72 Scientists". La Tour Eiffel. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  2. Harriss, Joseph (1975). The Tallest Tower: Eiffel And The Belle Epoque. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 100–101. ISBN   0395204402.
  3. Gray, Mary (1978). "Sophie Germain (1776–1831)". In Grinstein, Louise S.; Campbell, Paul (eds.). Women of Mathematics: A Bibliographic Sourcebook. Greenwood. pp. 47–55. ISBN   978-0-313-24849-8.
  4. Mozen, H. J. (pseud.) (1913). Women in Science: With an Introductory Chapter on Women's Long Struggle for Things of the Mind. D. Appleton. pp. 154–157.
  5. Chanson, Hubert (13 April 2009). "Hydraulic Engineering Legends Listed on the Eiffel Tower". In Rogers, Jerry R. (ed.). Great Rivers History: Proceedings and Invited Papers for the EWRI Congress and Great Rivers History Symposium. American Society of Civil Engineers. pp. 1–7. doi:10.1061/41032(344)1. ISBN   978-0-7844-1032-5.

Further reading