List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

The location of the names on the tower

On the Eiffel Tower, seventy-two names of French scientists, engineers and some other notable people are engraved in recognition of their contributions by Gustave Eiffel.^[1] The engravings are found on the sides of the tower under the first balcony. This engraving was painted over at the beginning of the twentieth century and restored in 1986–1987 by Société Nouvelle d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company contracted to operate business related to the Tower. The Tower is owned by the city of Paris. The list has been criticized for excluding Sophie Germain, noted French mathematician whose work on the theory of elasticity was crucial to the construction of the tower itself.^[2] Germain's biographer, Mozans, suggested that she was excluded because she was a woman.^[3]

Hydraulic engineers and scholars listed on the Eiffel Tower

14 hydraulic engineers and scholars were among the 72 scientists listed on the Eiffel Tower^[4], and Gustave Eiffel did indeed acknowledge the leading scientists in the field of hydrodynamics and fluid mechanics. It may be noted the absence of Henri Philibert Gaspard Darcy (1805–1858). This might be a consequence of Darcy's provincial career in Dijon, his short career lifespan and a lack of teaching involvement. It might also illustrate that some of Darcy's findings were not widely used until the 20th century (e.g. the Darcy friction factor). The omission of the names of Antoine Chézy (1717–1798) and Joseph Valentin Boussinesq (1842–1929) is also noticeable but possibly understandable. Chézy was less famous and Boussinesq was still a young researcher in the 1880s.

Notes and references

1. ^ The 72 scientists. Eiffel Tower official website. Accessed 2008-01-31.
2. ^ William P. Berlinghoff, Fernando Quadros Gouvêa. Math Through the Ages: A Gentle History for Teachers and Others. MAA, 2004, p. 52. ISBN 0883857367.
3. ^ Lynn M. Osen. Women in Mathematics. MIT Press, 1975, pp. 92–93. ISBN 0262650096.
4. ^ Chanson, H. Hydraulic Engineering Legends Listed on the Eiffel Tower. in "Great Rivers History", 2009, ASCE-EWRI Publication, Proceedings of the History Symposium of the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009, Kansas City, USA, 17–19 May, J.R. ROGERS Ed., pp. 1–7. ISBN 9780784410325.
5. ^ Not to be confused with Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot.

Related

Paris portal

• Paris streets named for the 72 scientists
• Barral, G., 1892. Le Panthéon Scientifique de la Tour Eiffel. Nouvelle Librairie Parisienne, Paris.