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 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.
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:
In the table below are all the names on the four sides.
| Name appearing | Full name | Occupation | Location | Portrait | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEGUIN | Marc Seguin | engineer | |||
| LALANDE | Jérôme Lalande | astronomer | |||
| TRESCA | Henri Tresca | engineer and mechanic | |||
| PONCELET | Jean-Victor Poncelet | geometer | |||
| BRESSE | Jacques Antoine Charles Bresse | civil engineer and hydraulic engineer | |||
| LAGRANGE | Joseph-Louis Lagrange | mathematician | |||
| BELANGER | Jean-Baptiste-Charles-Joseph Bélanger | mathematician and hydraulic engineer | |||
| CUVIER | Georges Cuvier | naturalist | |||
| LAPLACE | Pierre-Simon Laplace | mathematician and astronomer | |||
| DULONG | Pierre Louis Dulong | physicist and chemist | |||
| CHASLES | Michel Chasles | geometer | |||
| LAVOISIER | Antoine Lavoisier | chemist | |||
| AMPERE | André-Marie Ampère | mathematician and physicist | |||
| CHEVREUL | Michel Eugène Chevreul | chemist | |||
| FLACHAT | Eugène Flachat | civil engineer | |||
| NAVIER | Claude-Louis Marie Henri Navier | mathematician | |||
| LEGENDRE | Adrien-Marie Legendre | mathematician | |||
| CHAPTAL | Jean-Antoine Chaptal | agronomist and chemist | |||
| JAMIN | Jules Jamin | physicist | |||
| GAY-LUSSAC | Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac | chemist | |||
| FIZEAU | Hippolyte Fizeau | physicist | |||
| SCHNEIDER | Eugène Schneider | industrialist | |||
| LE CHATELIER | Louis Le Chatelier | engineer | |||
| BERTHIER | Pierre Berthier | mineralogist | |||
| BARRAL | Jean-Augustin Barral | agronomist, chemist, physicist | |||
| DE DION | Henri de Dion | engineer | |||
| GOUIN | Ernest Goüin | engineer and industrialist | |||
| JOUSSELIN | Louis Didier Jousselin | engineer | |||
| BROCA | Paul Broca | physician and anthropologist | |||
| BECQUEREL | Antoine César Becquerel | physicist | |||
| CORIOLIS | Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis | engineer and scientist | |||
| CAIL | Jean-François Cail | industrialist | |||
| TRIGER | Jacques Triger | engineer | |||
| GIFFARD | Henri Giffard | engineer | |||
| PERRIER | François Perrier | geographer and mathematician | |||
| STURM | Jacques Charles François Sturm | mathematician | |||
| CAUCHY | Augustin-Louis Cauchy | mathematician | |||
| BELGRAND | Eugène Belgrand | engineer | |||
| REGNAULT | Henri Victor Regnault | chemist and physicist | |||
| FRESNEL | Augustin-Jean Fresnel | civil engineer and physicist | |||
| DE PRONY | Gaspard de Prony | engineer | |||
| VICAT | Louis Vicat | engineer | |||
| EBELMEN | Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen | chemist | |||
| COULOMB | Charles-Augustin de Coulomb | physicist | |||
| POINSOT | Louis Poinsot | mathematician | |||
| FOUCAULT | Léon Foucault | physicist | |||
| DELAUNAY | Charles-Eugène Delaunay | astronomer | |||
| MORIN | Arthur Morin | mathematician and physicist | |||
| HAUY | René Just Haüy | mineralogist | |||
| COMBES | Charles Combes | engineer and metallurgist | |||
| THENARD | Louis Jacques Thénard | chemist | |||
| ARAGO | François Arago | astronomer and physicist | |||
| POISSON | Siméon Denis Poisson | mathematician and physicist | |||
| MONGE | Gaspard Monge | geometer | |||
| PETIET | Jules Petiet | engineer | |||
| DAGUERRE | Louis Daguerre | artist and chemist | |||
| WURTZ | Charles-Adolphe Wurtz | chemist | |||
| LE VERRIER | Urbain Le Verrier | astronomer | |||
| PERDONNET | Albert Auguste Perdonnet | engineer | |||
| DELAMBRE | Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre | astronomer | |||
| MALUS | Étienne-Louis Malus | physicist | |||
| BREGUET | Louis Breguet | physicist and inventor | |||
| POLONCEAU | Camille Polonceau | engineer | |||
| DUMAS | Jean-Baptiste Dumas | chemist | |||
| CLAPEYRON | Émile Clapeyron | engineer and physicist | |||
| BORDA | Jean-Charles de Borda | mathematician | |||
| FOURIER | Joseph Fourier | mathematician | |||
| BICHAT | Marie François Xavier Bichat | anatomist and physiologist | |||
| SAUVAGE | François Clément Sauvage | engineer and geologist | |||
| PELOUZE | Théophile-Jules Pelouze | chemist | |||
| CARNOT | Lazare Carnot | mathematician | |||
| LAME | Gabriel Lamé | mathematician |
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] Marie Curie is not included, yet she has saved several people’s lives, whilst sacrificing her own. In 1913, John Augustine Zahm suggested that Germain was excluded because she was a woman.[4]
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;[5] and mathematician Évariste Galois. Other famous French mathematicians are missing from the list: Joseph Liouville and Charles Hermite.