Gustave Eiffel
Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), French engineer. Eiffel specialized in metal construction, building a number of iron bridges as well as the huge locks for the Panama Canal. For the Paris centennial exhibition of 1889 Eiffel designed and built the three-stage Eiffel Tower on the Champ-de-Mars; the tower, which stands 300 m high, took two years to complete ‘and cost £260,000. Eiffel acquired the nickname ‘ma-gician of iron’, and was made an officer of the Legion d’Honneur. He later conducted a number of aero-dynamic experiments from the tower.
“A keen amateur violinist, Einstein sometimes played in a string quartet for relaxation. Although he greatly enjoyed these sessions, some of his fellow musicians had misgivings about his abilities. “He’s alright,” commented one of them, but I wish he’d learn to count.”
