The_72_names_on_the_Eiffel_Tower

List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

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On the Eiffel Tower, 72 names of French 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]

Quick Facts

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:

  • The North-East side (also known as La Bourdonnais side)
Petiet, Daguerre, Wurtz, Le Verrier, Perdonnet, Delambre, Malus, Breguet, Polonceau, Dumas, Clapeyron, Borda, Fourier, Bichat, Sauvage, Pelouze, Carnot, Lamé
Cauchy, Belgrand, Regnault, Fresnel, De Prony, Vicat, Ebelmen, Coulomb, Poinsot, Foucault, Delaunay, Morin, Haüy, Combes, Thénard, Arago, Poisson, Monge
  • The South-West side (also known as the Grenelle side)
Jamin, Gay-Lussac, Fizeau, Schneider, Le Chatelier, Berthier, Barral, De Dion, Goüin, Jousselin, Broca, Becquerel, Coriolis, Cail, Triger, Giffard, Perrier, Sturm
  • The North West side (also known as the Trocadéro side)
Seguin, Lalande, Tresca, Poncelet, Bresse, Lagrange, Belanger, Cuvier, Laplace, Dulong, Chasles, Lavoisier, Ampère, Chevreul, Flachat, Navier, Legendre, Chaptal

Names

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

More information Name appearing, Full name ...

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

References

  1. [1]
    "The 72 Scientists". La Tour Eiffel. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  2. [2]
    Harriss, Joseph (1975). The Tallest Tower: Eiffel And The Belle Epoque. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 100–101. ISBN 0395204402.
  3. [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. [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. [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.

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