Image Source : WIKIPEDIA
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French civil engineer and an
architect. He was a specialist of metallic structures. He was famous for
conceiving the Eiffel Tower built between 1887 and 1889 and his contribution to
building the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Gustave Eiffel was born in the Burgundy, France, in the city
of Dijon, on December 15, 1832. Gustave was the first child of the couple Catherine
Melanie with Alexandre Bonickhausen. His ancestors came from Germany and
migrated to Paris in the early 18th century. His father is a former soldier
working as an administrator in the French Army. But shortly after his birth, his mother expanded a charcoal business and soon afterwards his father gave up his job to assist her. Gustave
attends Lycee Royal in Dijon City.
He was interested in history and literature. In addition to formal education at
school, Gustave learned a lot from his uncle Jean-Baptiste Mollerat with his
colleague a chemist Michel Perret. From both, Gustave learned about many things,
from chemistry and mining to theology and philosophy. Gustave then continued
his education at the Sainte-Barbe College in Paris in preparation for entering
the two most prestigious schools of the time, the Ecole Polytechnic and the
Center for the Arts and Manufacturing of Ecole. He graduated in 1855 and began
his career as a specialist in metal construction, especially bridges. After
graduating, Gustave tried his luck working in the construction field. Starting
from volunteering as an assistant in a metal casting plant to later joining a
railroad technician, Charles Nepveu.
However, shortly afterwards Nepveu’s company went bankrupt. Nevertheless the two continue to work
together on a number of bridge projects. In 1857, with help from Nepveu,
Gustave got a bridge construction project to cross the Garonne River in
Bordeaux. The project became the first major project undertaken by Gustave. For
this work, he used the most innovative technique of his time. He also took over
as the person in charge of the project after Nepveu retired in 1860. The
success of the bridge project made Gustave's name begin to be known as an
expert in metal construction. He also received many project offers. But that
didn’t last long because development projects that could be carried out began
to diminish a few years later. Guztave also chose to resign from the Compagnie
Belge and opened an engineering consulting office in 1865.
Afterwards Gustave got a number of railroad projects in
Toulouse and Agen. In 1866, Gustave got 33 locomotive construction work
contracts for the Egyptian government. Still in the same year, Gustave opened a
construction company with his partner, Theophile Seyrig, named Eiffel et Cie.
In 1875, Gustave's company was trusted to work on two major projects, namely
the railroad network from Vienna to Budapest, and to build a bridge over the
Douro River in Portugal. Four years later, Gustave's collaboration with Seyrig
ended and his company was changed to Compagnie des Etablissements Eiffel.
Gustave then recruited a number of people who in the future would be very
instrumental in helping him complete the Eiffel Tower. They are Maurice
Koechlin, Zurich Polytechnikum, and Emile Nouguier. In 1881, Gustave was
contacted by Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, who asked him to help
complete the Statue of Liberty project.
The Eiffel Tower was erected in a large green open area named Champ de Mars. The initial design of the tower was made by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier. Foundation works for the Eiffel Tower began on January 28, 1887 and was completed in March 1889.
Image Source : WIKIPEDIA
Eiffel died on December 27, 1923 in Paris. The bridges and
towers that he designed were constructed all over the world. These
constructions allowed people to travel faster and more easily. Moreover, many
of Eiffel's works did not require skilled workers for assembly, which is a good
economical choice. The Eiffel Tower and The Statue of Liberty had a huge impact
in the whole world.
Source : wikipedia
kompas.com
my hero.com
Comments
Post a Comment