(b Dijon, 15 Dec 1832: d Paris, 27 Dec 1923). French engineer and writer. He began his advanced studies at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris in 1850 but failed examinations during his first year; he subsequently enrolled at the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, where he earned a diploma in chemical engineering. In 1856 he received his first major engineering commission, the iron railway bridge (completed 1860) over the River Garonne at Bordeaux. Aged only 26, he was given total control of the project; his use of compressed air to drive the pier foundations was an early application in France of this new technology. His lifelong concern for close site supervision was also already in evidence on this project: when the bridge was finished in 1860, the workers were so grateful for Eiffel's personal involvement that they presented him with a medal.

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