Gustave Eiffel Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 183227 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale Paris, he made his name building various bridges for the French railway network, most famously the Garabit viaduct. He is best known for the world-famous Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and his contribution to building the Statue of Liberty in New York. After his retirement from engineering, Eiffel focused on research into meteorology and aerodynamics, making significant contributions in both fields. Gustave Eiffel was born in Burgundy, France, in
Gustave Eiffel des Etablissements Eiffel, Eiffel was approached by Felix-Max Richard, owner of the Comptoir General de Photographie. Felix-Max Richard had just lost a lawsuit against him by his brother to enforce a noncompetition agreement. Felix-Max Richard appealed the decision but felt he needed a back-up plan if his appeal was denied. On May 28, 1895, the court denied the appeal and Gustave Eiffel bought the Comptoir with three other men: Joseph Vallot, Alfred Besnier, and Leon Gaumont, who was thirty years his junior. The company was renamed L. Gaumont et Cie after its youngest partner because Eiffel did not want his