Gustave Eiffel Gustave Eiffel started metalworking after college, and he mainly worked on bridges.

In 1879, Eiffel was hired to work on the Statue of Liberty, making the skeleton of the structure. In 1882, Eiffel worked on the Garabit viaduct, which was the highest bridge in the world at that time. He then worked on the Eiffel Tower. He was born in Dijon, France in 1832. He was very interested in construction at a very early age. He attended the College of art and manufacturing, when he graduated in 1855. He worked on several new buildings, and used his knowledge of math to find easier, safer and ways to use less material on his buildings. One of Eiffel's first projects was in 1858 when he got one of his first job, building an iron bridge in Bordeaux. By 1866, Eiffel had enough reputation to start his own company. When he designed the arched Gallery of Machines in 1867, he became famous. in 1967, he designed a massive structure: 525-foot metal arch-type bridge in Portugal, over the Douro River in Oporto. Using the exact same design 20 years later, he built the 540-foot Garabit viaduct in France. It is over 400 feet above the surface of the water, being the highest bridge in the world for 4 years since it was build. Eiffel moved away from bridgework in 1879, he created a dome for the astronomy observatory in France. Also, in that year the main architect for the Statue of Liberty died. So Eiffel was hired as the new hea d architect. He used his new techniques he had invented to make the skeleton, which would be much stronger than the one that was initially used. The most famous structure Eiffel made was the Eiffel tower, standing 324 meters high. Construction began in 1887 and finished in 1889. The Eiffel Tower was build to recognize the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. After the tower was finished, it directed Eiffel into aeronautical engineering. He build an aerodynamics lab at its base, where he would test things to his choice. Some of his work there even influenced some of the first aviators, including the wright brothers.

"Gustave Eiffel Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/gustave-eiffel-9285294>.