Gustave Eiffel was born in 1832 in Cote-d’Or, France and died in 1923 in Paris, France. He was an architect who started building bridges and worked his way up to creating the world famous, Eiffel Tower.
Although he was born in Cote-d’Or he was raised in Paris. His mother owned a charcoal-distribution business that she inherited from her parents. At the time of his birth his dad was an administrator for the French army but soon joined his mom. The family came up with the name Eiffel from the Eifel Mountains of which they came. The family name was not changed to Eiffel formally until 1880. Due to his mother’s job, he lived with his grandmother, but still remained close with his mother. Catherine Eiffel sold the business in 1843 and retired on the proceeds.
Eiffel attended the Lycee Royal in Dijon and thought that all his classes except history and literature were boring and a waste of time. An important figure was his uncle, Jean-Baptiste Mollerat, who invented a process for distilling vinegar. He taught young Eiffel everything from chemistry and mining to theology and philosophy .
Eiffel went to College Sainte-Barbe in Paris so that he may prepare for the entrance exams to the engineering colleges that he wanted to go to. Because his scores were not good enough, Eiffel couldn’t go to Ecole Polytechnique so instead he went to Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris. He chose to specialize in chemistry in his second year. He graduated 13th of the 80 candidates in 1855.
His first job after graduation was working as an unpaid assistant to his brother-in-law who managed a foundry. Eiffel moved on to work as a paid private secretary for the railway engineer Charles Nepveu. Shortly after, Nepveu’s business went out of busin...
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...al people joined him in building it, including Maurice Koechlin, a young graduate of the Zurich Polytechnikum, and Emile Nouguier, who had previously worked for Eiffel on the construction of the Douro bridge.
The design of the Eiffel tower was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier. Construction on the foundations started in 1887. The tower was finished in 1889 and was used as the entrance arch to the World’s Fair that year.
In 1913 Eiffel was awarded the Samuel P. Langley Medal for Aerodromics by the Smithsonian Institute for his researches on the resistance of the air in connection with aviation. He also built a weather station at his house in Sevres.
Eiffel died on December 27, 1923 while listening to Beethoven’s 5th symphony andante, in his mansion on Rue Rabelais in Paris, France. He was buried in the family tomb in Levallois-Perret Cemetery.
The world which faced him as he left the College was full with strong political activity. During this period, Louis lived with his aunt, Lucie Riel, and managed to find employment in the law office. Louis fel...
In 1861 Cezanne moved to Paris, but it only lasted about six months. He suffered from depression and decided to move home, wondering if he had chosen the wrong career. After a year of working with his father, he decided to give painting another try. The first six months back in Paris were very hard on the new artist. He had failed the entrance exam at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, which was the official painting school in Paris. At the same time his artwork was rejected at The Salon, the official art exhibition of the Academie des Beaux-Arts. While in Paris, he met Camille Pissarro an Impressionist painter. Pissarro was able to help the young developing artist. The more mature artist was able to mentored Cezanne and over the course of their friendship they started working on projects together, wo...
The artist who would go on to be known as Le Corbusier was born in Switzerland, not far from the French border, as Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris on October 6, 1887. His father worked in the prosperous watch making industry in Switzerland while his mother worked as a musician and piano teacher. Le Corbusier’s family history and the area of Switzerland he called home growing up would greatly influence his work. His first influence came from his local art school where he studied under Charles L'Eplattenier who Le Corbusier would cite as one of the greatest influence of his work. Le Corbusier initially studied engraving and wanted to be a painter but L’Eplanttenier encouraged him to pursue architecture and design. Despite the influence and knowledge he gained in Switzerland, he would feel the need to travel throughout his life to gain a broader knowledge of architecture for his work. He would study in France, Italy, Germany, and Austria among many others becoming fluent in several languages. He would be influenced by the conditions of people living in poverty during his travels and gained his interest in urban planning.
A lot of modern architects and designers boasted the fact that they followed know existing style, some say modernism was a lot more than just a style, it was a new, refreshed and revived outlook on the world accustomed by new viewpoints of space and time. One of the most iconic ‘modern’ architects was Charles Edouard Jeanneret Gris, who took a great interest in exploring new materials, who rejected precedents from the past and pioneered simplicity. Charles Edouard Jeanneret Gris was born in Switzerland on October 6th 1887 and chose to be known as Le Corbusier. He initially worked in France, where he was most active, utilizing his many talents by being an architect, designer, writer, painter, urban planner and theorist. Corbusier started his academic life in 1900, as a goldsmith & engraver; he studied at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. Corbusier was taught the history of art, drawing and naturalist aesthetics of art nouveau by L’Eplattenier who Corbusier later, himself referred as his only teacher. Corbusier left his current studies at the time and progressed with his studies of art and decoration with the intention of becoming an artist/painter. It was L’Eplattenier who insisted that Corbusier studies architecture, and therefore organized some local projects that Corbusier could work on.
At the age of 21, his intestinal operation led to appendicitis. Henri was on bed rest for most of 1890 and to help him occupy his time, his mother bought him a set of paints. That was the turning point in Henri’s life. He decided to give up his career in law for a career in art. Matisse himself said, “It was as if I had been called. Henceforth I did not lead my life. It led me” (Getlein 80). Soon after, Henri began to take classes at the Academie Julian to prepare himself for the entrance examination at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (Essers 7). Henri failed his first attempt, leading to his departure from the Academie. He then enrolled at the Ecole des Arts decoratifs and that is where his friendship with Albert Marquet began. They started working alongside of Gustave Moreau, a distinguished teacher at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, even though they had not been accepted (Essers 12). In 1895, Henri finally passed the Beaux-Arts entrance examination and his pathway to his new career choice had officially begun.
Auguste Escoffier Auguste Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the village of Villeneuve-Loubet, France. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Escoffier and his wife Madeleine Civatte. His father was the village's blacksmith, farrier, locksmith, and maker of agricultural tools. Escoffier's childhood dream was to become a sculptor. Unfortunately, he was forced to give up that dream at the age of thirteen, just after he celebrated his first Holy Communion.
Built in 1889 to commemorate the hundred year anniversary of the French Revolution, the Eiffel Tower has been a topic of discussion for numerous years. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and Morris Koechlin, the Tower was built originally as a temporary structure. The pieces of this eye-catching building were to be disassembled and melted down after twenty years. This did not happen, however. The Eiffel Tower has become a colossal icon throughout the world; the Tower has brought in enormous revenue and has a scientific impact on French and all of Europe’s society.
Jean Sylvain Bailly was famous for his advances in the sciences. Some of his accomplishments include the computation of an orbit for Halley's Comet and also studied the four satellites of Jupiter that were known at the time according to www.britannica.com. He was elected to the Academy of Science in 1763. In 1784,
recognized as a writer. He became one of the most famous and well paid French
Pierre was educated at home by his brother and his parents. Some would have considered Pierre slow, but his father believed that he was simply reflective and independent. Eugene realized that Pierre was capable of intense concentration, but easily distracted. Most of Pierre’s free time was spent outside in the woods. Often times he even brought home specimens of minerals, flora and fauna (Bailey).
At age 13 Le Corbusier had finished and left grade school to move on to attend Arts Decoratifs in his home city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Here a young Le would learn the art of facing watches, just like his father, through enameling and engraving. While attending Arts Decoratifs Le Corbusier was under the influence of his teacher L’ Eplattenier who he would later refer to as his “Master” and only teacher. Under L’ Eplattenier’s instruction a young Le Corbusier would learn the history of art, drawing and the naturalistic attributes of newly developed art. With his in depth teachings of art Le Corbusier soon abandoned his previous career of watch making and further continued his education in decoration and art intending to eventually...
Andre Marie Ampere was a French Physicist who had many great discoveries throughout his life. He was born on January 22, 1775 in Lyon, France. Ampere created electromagnetism, which started the science of electrodynamics. With this discovery the unit measure of electromagnetism was named after ampere. Ampere was born into a very financially set middle class family. Andre’s mother was a devout woman (Shank). She was a charitable and very religious (Fox). His father (Jean Jacques Ampere) was a successful merchant. Ampere combines both of his parent’s personal traits. His father was a big admirer of Jean Jacques Rousseau, a philosophy scientist. Amperes father believed that and education should be taught from nature and not taught from a school. Jean let his son educate himself in his own well stocked library. By the age of 12 Andre taught himself advanced mathematics. Andre’s mother made his is initiated within the catholic faith along with the Enlightenment of Science (Shank).
Emilie du Chatelet was not a conventional woman, given the time. Like many girls at the time she was educated at home. She valued her independence and wanted to marry someone who would value it as well. She married Marquise du Chatelet-Laumont in 1725. At the age of 27 she had her last child and went back to her study of mathematics. She wanted to join the discussion in salons, but was not admitted to join until she went dressed as a man. “Emilie’s interest in mathematics and science overlapped with her affairs of the heart.” She had a fling with one of her tutors, Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertius. Her affair with Voltaire lasted until the end of her life.
Comte was born in the south of France in a city called Montpellier on January 19, 1788. He was the eldest of four children. His father Louis-Auguste Comte was a tax official and his mother, Félicité-Rosalie Boyer was twelve years older than his father. His parents were both of Roman Catholic faith and royalists. He attended the Citadel of Montpellier and the University of Montpellier. Comte also attended the École Polytechnique. While attending the Citadel of Montpellier, he abandoned the beliefs of his parents and picked up the beliefs of a movement called republicanism. “From 1818 to 1824 he contributed to the publications of Saint-Simon, and the direction of much of Comte's future work may be attributed to this association...
At age 16, Dirichlet had finished his school credentials and was able to attend a university. However, the German universities were not up to par, thus allowing Dirichlet to explore other forms of education in Paris. While the German Universities were lacking at the time, in only a few more years they would be world renown for their ...