Talk:Gustave Eiffel

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Eiffel Church in Chile is in Coquimbo

There is a church in Coquimbo, Chile made by Eiffel. It was made elsewhere and shipped to the site in pieces where it was assembled. I have photographs of the place. In the list of Other Structures, a church in Arica is listed but no church in Coquimbo. Smmudge // (talk i love upi

Built the Statue of Liberty

The statue of liberty article and the Eiffel tower article both dispute this The state of liberty article stating the only Maurice Koechlin who worked for Eiffel in his firm designed the Iron framework of the interior. It also states that it was the french people not Gustave Eiffel who gave the statue to the united states. Eiffel did not "build" the statue infact Bartholdi was the sculptor of the Colossus.

As an aerodynamicist

I read about his contributions to aerodynamics in Anderson's A History of Aerodynamics and I was impressed. If you know well about this aspect, why don't you write? I think it's worth adding (or, somewhere related to aerodynamics or wind tunnel is better place maybe?). - Marsian // talk 15:48, 2005 May 20 (UTC)

I agree... Eiffel is responsible for designing a tower that only sways 1/4 of an inch (0.63 cm) off its center on either direction when hit by a 60 MPH (near 90 kph) wind... incredible. Might make an excellent topic. Demf 19:11, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Soon after the first powered flight in 1903, Eiffel undertook foundational work on the aerodynamics of wings. He pioneered the development of wind tunnels and used elaborate engineering resources to study the aerodynamic force generated by variously cambered plates and wing sections by measuring their lift and drag forces. His results in are published in his widely quoted

"The resistance of the air and aviation : experiments conducted at the Champ-de-Mars Laboratory" / by G. Eiffel ; translated by Jerome C. Hunsaker. Eiffel, Gustave, 1832-1923. : 2nd ed., revised and enlarged. : London : Constable ; Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1913. 1913 TQ052413.

This deserves a major section of an Article on the man.

I have read his book, and nowhere does he refer to the more modern aviation terms of "Lift" or "Drag". He measured and reported the forces perpendicular and parallel with the airstream as Fx and Fy, so I feel it's important that he not be mis-quoted. (I am trying to convince the sceptical sailing world that the aviation terms Lift and Drag are not relevant or helpful when describing the wind forces on sails. Thrust and leeway/heel are simpler and better.)

Gpsanimator (talk) 01:05, 17 February 2021 (UTC)

Engineer

I came here to add Eiffel to Category:French engineers but see that he's listed under Category:French architects. Which is right? Or both? Cutler 11:19, July 12, 2005 (UTC)

Panama Canal

I believe the bit about the Panama Canal is wrong. My understanding is that Eiffel designed locks for the French project (with a width of 76 feet, if I recall right), in about 1887, but they were never built. When the USA took over, they went back to the drawing board; they made new surveys of the whole region, and started over again with the sea level versus locks debate. When they eventually settled on locks in 1906, almost 20 years after Eiffel's work, my belief is that they designed the present day locks, which are 110 feet wide, from scratch.

Anyone got any comment on this before I change the article? — Johan the Ghost _seance 11:00, 17 April 2006 (UTC)I HATE FRENCH WORDS!!!

[1] seems to show an interesting sliding door arrangement, completely different from the present locks. [2] says that the French locks were to be 738.22 feet long, 82.02 feet wide, with a normal depth of 29.5 feet; significantly smaller than the present locks. — Johan the Ghost _seance 14:52, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

It's pretty clear to me that Eiffel did not design the present locks (which is perhaps a shame), so I've made the change. — Johan the Ghost _seance 15:53, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

References

I added an unreferenced tag, but it was removed without an addition of references. This article is sorely missing in references, especially on the "personality" section, which goes so far beyond stating simple uncontroversial facts that it really needs a specific cite. Night Gyr 16:40, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Quite agree. — Johan the Ghost _seance 19:43, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

I removed some items from References to new Related (see below) Epfr (talk) 22:01, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Eiffel & Co. as pre-fab builders?

Folks, I'm from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and, as far as I know, besides the lighthouse at Mona Island that the article makes a reference of, there were two buildings in my hometown that were at least designed by Eiffel (or, at least, his company). The local produce market, the Plaza del Mercado, was definitely an Eiffel building, which lasted until the mid 1970s. The former municipal theater, which used to be nicknamed El Bizcochón because it looked like a wedding cake, was quite probably an Eiffel building (it had to be demolished after an earthquake in 1918). However, as far as I know, Eiffel never set a foot in Puerto Rico, and my sources tell me that these were actually prefabricated structures that could be designed from afar (France, I assume) and built to order. Can anyone here elaborate on that? Demf 13:53, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

English pronunciation

"... usually pronounced in English in the German manner ..."

• Does this mean "identically with the German pronunciation", which is wrong (final "l" is pronounced differently in German and English, I believe, and the schwa has a slightly different quality), or, much more likely, "as if it were a German word"? "In the German manner" is imprecise, IMO. — Paul G 12:49, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Philippine bridge

Eiffel did not design the Quezon Bridge.

"The third to be built spanning the Pasig was the Puente de Convalecencia or better known as the Ayala Bridge, originally composed of two separate spans connected by the Isla de Convalecencia, which is home to Hospisio de San Jose, dropping point for abandoned babies, the bridge over this island was originally made of wooden arched trusses. Completed in 1880, it suffered major structural damage and completely collapsed 10 years later. This was subsequently replaced with a simple metal saw trussed bridge in the last decade of the 19th century, though not significant for its design, its engineer nevertheless is important in the annals of Philippine history, for it was the only bridge that the famed French Engineer by the name of Gustave Eiffel built in the country. This bridge, famous for its engineer or otherwise, similarly didn’t last long and was subsequently replaced."

http://icomosphilippines.blogspot.com/2006/04/bridge-over-not-so-troubled-waters.html

125.60.243.27 06:33, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Related

I moved several items here that appeared to be misplaced in References and I added a link to Aérodynamique EIFFEL (website of wind tunnel facility built by Eiffel, still operating, and location indicated on an annotated Google map. (I am the owner of this map.) I also added the wind tunnel to the list of structures built by Eiffel.) Address questions or comments to me at epfr09@gmail.com. Epfr (talk) 22:01, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Is it Neveu or Nepveu?

Quick googles of <"charles neveu" eiffel> & <"charles nepveu" eiffel> give about the same number of "authoritative" hits.

Thanks. Saintrain (talk) 22:07, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

This doesn't sound right

Can someone help? I'm not sure how to fix this. ... which Eiffel had helped pioneer. With the thriving Industrial world of the time. Some of his advancements... I can't fix this because I don't know what the original author intended to say. It just dosen't sound right. Please help. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.68.34.188 (talk) 20:17, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Eiffel né Bönickhausen - delete this bit of info?

Was Gustave Eiffel born Bönickhausen?

Even though I found a book reference, is somewhat verifiable; the story seems implausible to the extreme. The book reference itself is a Rhineland guidebook that treats the story like an urban legend.

The book reference has it that the name was changed in 1880, making Eiffel 48 when he changed his surname - highly improbable given that by age 48, he was already a highly respected and prominent engineer.

I have not found any other reference to the surname Bönickhausen anywhere else associated explicitly with Gustave Eiffel. His ancestors may have had that surname when they moved to France from Eifel, Germany but apart from that throwaway book, I can't really find anything else stating that he was born with the name Bönickhausen.

Something as major as a name change needs to have something more to back it up rather than a gossipy guidebook discussing an urban legend. Eqdoktor (talk) 08:47, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

I am going to delete the bit of trivia info from the header of the article due to WP:RSUW. It just gives undue weight to a name that does not figure significantly in the life of Gustave Eiffel. The info will still be in the "Early life" section. No other reference book or autobiography even mentions this name change and the only online web references is cribbed from Wikipedia itself. I am going to delete it within 24 hours - comment or object in the talk section. Eqdoktor (talk) 21:58, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Siliness. The family may have technically had this name but used the name Eiffel in France from the early eighteenth century. Eiffel called himself Eiffel, the family lawyer uses the name 1n 1860, and leaving it till a decade after the Franco-Prussian war to change it hardly makes a case for a German name on your birth registry entry being important. It's trivia, and its going. Again.TheLongTone (talk) 09:34, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

I found no reference to the name Bönickhausen used by Eiffel in French or English data. However, some German books that I cannot read make this reference see: "Die grosse Geschichte der Freimaurerei Freimaurerei Rituale und Grade" or "Mittelrhein mit Hunsrück, Eifel, Westerwald: Landschaft, ...". I don't know if Eiffel is born Bönickhausen or not, but I think that this information is given too much importance in the article. It sounds as if Eiffel's German roots are of primary importance for the article. I recommend to move "born Bönickhausen" out of the introduction if the fact is true, or to delete it completely if not. If there is a doubt then it should be indicated dubious. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Christophe Krief (talk • contribs) 19:05, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

French sources: "Eiffel Gustave (Bönickhausen) p. 123, 159 : Ingénieur et industriel français né à Dijon en Côte-d'Or (21), mort à Paris en 1923." ⇒ [3] & "Histoire de Dijon" ⇒ [4] - and lots more ⇒ [5] --IIIraute (talk) 00:30, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

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Cimetière de Levallois-Perret

It is little sad that there is not an article on the Cimetière de Levallois-Perret. This lovely little cemetery in one of the suburbs of Paris is a delight to visit. It also houses the graves of Louise Michel and Maurice Ravel amongst others. Wikipedia takes a strict view on FOP so I am not allowed to show the pictures of the graves (although the French Wikipedia does not view this as a problem). 77.167.212.162 (talk) 23:52, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

List of works

The list of works needs a lot of work. Eiffel's business was responsible for a very large number of projects and a lot of them are not really notable and were in all proability executed with little or no input from Eiffel himself.TheLongTone (talk) 10:30, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

Many works attributed to famous architects or engineers were mainly carried out by employees with little or no input from the practice owners, this problem is not proper to Eiffel. --Christophe Krief (talk) 10:55, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

I realise that, but it seems to me that the lists would be more useful if they were broken down in some way. Given that Eiffel & Cie manufactured prefabricated bridges, the list could become very long indeed. Do you have any good written sources on the man or his works?TheLongTone (talk) 12:04, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

Also, list (& article) mention things dating from after 1893, when Eiffel resigned from the company: should they be in the article? I would say not, although the article on the company, where I would say they properly belong, is very rudimentary. My instinct is to arrange them by date, but many dates are missing & not in my sources.TheLongTone (talk) 12:40, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

Well you are getting in a lot of works if you take this way... I am not sure about the extend of details and list of works to insert in this particular article. I think that it should cover the most relevant works only. Otherwise a book will be required, not an article...--Christophe Krief (talk) 18:12, 12 March 2012 (UTC)

It is widely reported that the Long Bien bridge in Hanoi was designed (and possibly built) by Eiffel. It is not included in the list of works - can anyone confirm or deny this?? Baska436 (talk) 01:29, 1 April 2013 (UTC)

See Long Dien bridge. It dates from after Eiffel's retirement, even if the firm had been involved.TheLongTone (talk) 13:45, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

Masonry

I just cut the assertation that Gus was a freemason from the lead. Its a pretty trivial fact and certainly does not belong in the lead. And it certainly did not need the grotesque number of cites it had.TheLongTone (talk) 01:01, 22 October 2013 (UTC)

Hôtel Negresco

The Hôtel Negresco page states that Eiffel did not work on the building. Either this page or that one is wrong. 2602:306:C485:DB00:8C72:BAC9:42A7:B4BA (talk) 23:45, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

Seems unlikely that Eiffel was involved, given the date. You could have removed this yourself., it's not sourced.TheLongTone (talk) 09:39, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

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Name at the birth

@TheLongTone:

"Dit" in French means "known as" but according civil registers it's really "Bonickhausen dit Eiffel" (without umlaut) the family name at the birth. In the registers, "dit Eiffel" is a part of family name, it isn't a mention of nickname "Eiffel". When he changed officially name, it's wrote too that modification is "Bonickhausen dit Eiffel" to "Eiffel".

I lived 8 years in Dijon, town of his birth, I have consulted this registers. The register is the first reference in the article.

The family name of his ancestor is "Bönickhausen" (with umlaut and without "dit Eiffel") known as "Eiffel" or "Eifel", the family name of his father is "Bönickhausen dit Eiffel" (always with umlaut but with "dit Eiffel") known as "Eiffel" and for Gustave Eiffel, it's "Bonickhausen dit Eiffel" (without umlaut) known as "Eiffel" at the birth.

A French contributor, GabrieL (talk) 13:04, 2 August 2018 (UTC)

Post scriptum : I have worked six years for civil registration and census in Burgundy (Eiffel's area), in Franche-Comté and in Alsace.

I bow to your superior knowledge, but it does seem very odd.TheLongTone (talk) 12:17, 7 August 2018 (UTC)

Indeed, this is not a very common case. But this is not an isolated case. For example, the family name "Larroze dit Jardiné" is relatively common in France. "Jardiné" was a nickname from the family "Larroze" then the family name has become "Larroze dit Jardiné" in civil registers. GabrieL (talk) 09:25, 8 August 2018 (UTC)

Request

Can page watchers please keep check of vandals removing the Statue of Liberty template. It was removed in a huge edit reduction on January 12, 2020, which may have removed other important items (doesn't look like it's been edit-checked, maybe someone can take a look). Thanks. Randy Kryn (talk) 21:38, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Ruhnu Lighthouse at Ruhnu island, Estonia (1877)

Ruhnu Lighthouse at Ruhnu island, Estonia (1877) - was ordered by Russian Government from France, from "Les Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée", Havre 1875 (erected at Ruhnu 1877), has labels of this Company at its walls still. Was it designed at all by G. Eiffel? Wasn't this Marseilles company with factories also at Le Havre one of competitors for "Eiffel et Cie"? LauriKreen (talk) 15:22, 6 May 2021 (UTC)

French film Eiffel about his life and secret romance

The 2022 film Eiffel shows extraordinary circumstances, especially romance. 5.195.40.6 (talk) 02:10, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Not the architect of the Ungheni bridge

From what I can tell, there is no proof that he was involved with the "Eiffel Bridge" in Romania - both English and Romanian Wikipedia state that the original architect was Nikolai Belelubsky, and it was later rebuilt first by the Nazi German/Romanian army during WW2, destroyed again, and then rebuilt again by the Russians.

According to a paper cited in the Romanian version of the article, this misunderstanding emerged in the 1990s and became so widespread the city of Ungheni officially renamed the bridge to this misnomer. Scrabcrab (talk) 17:25, 10 July 2024 (UTC)