List of the 72 names on the Eiffel Tower

On the Eiffel Tower, 72 names of French men (scientists, engineers, and mathematicians) are engraved in recognition of their contributions. 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. 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.

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)

• The South-East side (also known as the Military School side)

• The South-West side (also known as the Grenelle side)

• The North West side (also known as the Trocadéro side)

Names

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

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. In 1913, John Augustine Zahm suggested that Germain was excluded because she was a woman.

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; Joseph Valentin Boussinesq, who was early in his career at the time; and mathematician Évariste Galois. Other famous French mathematicians are missing from the list: Joseph Liouville and Charles Hermite.

Notes

References

Further reading

• Barral, Georges (1892). Le Panthéon scientifique de la tour Eiffel: histoire des origines de la construction de la Tour (in French). Savine. Reprinted as Barral, Georges (2013). Le Panthéon scientifique de la tour Eiffel: histoire des origines de la construction de la Tour (in French). Hachette Livre. ISBN 978-2-01-285936-4.

External links

• Media related to 72 names on the Eiffel Tower at Wikimedia Commons
• Paris streets named for the 72 scientists