Editing Eiffel Tower (section)

==History==
===Origin===
The design of the Eiffel Tower is attributed to [[Maurice Koechlin]] and [[Émile Nouguier]], two senior engineers working for the [[Gustave Eiffel|Compagnie des Établissements Eiffel]]. It was envisaged after discussion about a suitable centrepiece for the proposed [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|1889 Exposition Universelle]], a [[world's fair]] to celebrate the centennial of the [[French Revolution]]. In May 1884, working at home, Koechlin made a sketch of their idea, described by him as "a great pylon, consisting of four lattice girders standing apart at the base and coming together at the top, joined together by metal [[truss]]es at regular intervals".<ref>Harvie, 2006 p. 78.</ref> Eiffel initially showed little enthusiasm, but he did approve further study, and the two engineers then asked [[Stephen Sauvestre]], the head of the company's architectural department, to contribute to the design. Sauvestre added decorative arches to the base of the tower, a glass pavilion to the first level, and other embellishments.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

[[File:Maurice koechlin pylone.jpg|thumb|left|upright|First drawing of the Eiffel Tower by Maurice Koechlin including size comparison with other Parisian landmarks such as [[Notre Dame de Paris]], the [[Île aux Cygnes#Statue of Liberty replica|Statue of Liberty]], and the [[Vendôme Column]]]]

The new version gained Eiffel's support: he bought the rights to the patent on the design which Koechlin, Nouguier, and Sauvestre had taken out, and the design was put on display at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in the autumn of 1884 under the company name. On 30 March 1885, Eiffel presented his plans to the {{lang|fr|Société des Ingénieurs Civils}}; after discussing the technical problems and emphasising the practical uses of the tower, he finished his talk by saying the tower would symbolise {{blockquote|style=text-align:justify|text=[n]ot only the art of the modern engineer, but also the century of Industry and Science in which we are living, and for which the way was prepared by the great scientific movement of the eighteenth century and by the Revolution of 1789, to which this monument will be built as an expression of France's gratitude.<ref name=loyrette116>Loyrette, p. 116.</ref>}}

Little progress was made until 1886, when [[Jules Grévy]] was re-elected as president of France and [[Édouard Lockroy]] was appointed as minister for trade. A budget for the exposition was passed and, on 1 May, Lockroy announced an alteration to the terms of the open competition being held for a centrepiece to the exposition, which effectively made the selection of Eiffel's design a foregone conclusion, as entries had to include a study for a {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} four-sided metal tower on the Champ de Mars.<ref name=loyrette116/> (A 300-metre tower was then considered a herculean engineering effort.) On 12 May, a commission was set up to examine Eiffel's scheme and its rivals, which, a month later, decided that all the proposals except Eiffel's were either impractical or lacking in details.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

After some debate about the exact location of the tower, a contract was signed on 8 January 1887. Eiffel signed it acting in his own capacity rather than as the representative of his company, the contract granting him 1.5 million [[French franc|francs]] toward the construction costs: less than a quarter of the estimated 6.5 million francs. Eiffel was to receive all income from the commercial exploitation of the tower during the exhibition and for the next 20 years. He later established a separate company to manage the tower, putting up half the necessary capital himself.<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 121.</ref>

A French bank, the ''[[Crédit Industriel et Commercial]]'' (CIC), helped finance the construction of the Eiffel Tower. During the period of the tower's construction, the CIC was acquiring funds from [[Predatory lending|predatory loans]] to the [[National Bank of Haiti]], some of which went towards the financing of the tower. These loans were connected to [[Haiti indemnity controversy|an indemnity controversy]] that saw France force Haiti's government to financially compensate French slaveowners for lost income as a result of the [[Haitian Revolution]], and required Haiti to pay the CIC and its partner nearly half of all taxes collected on exports, "effectively choking off the nation's primary source of income". According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "[at] a time when the [CIC] was helping finance one of the world's best-known landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, as a monument to French liberty, it was choking Haiti's economy, taking much of the young nation's income back to Paris and impairing its ability to start schools, hospitals and the other building blocks of an independent country."<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|first1=Matt|last1=Apuzzo|first2=Constant|last2=Méheut|first3=Selam|last3=Gebrekidan|first4=Catherine|last4=Porter|title=How a French Bank Captured Haiti|website=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/french-banks-haiti-cic.html|date=20 May 2022|access-date=24 May 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Artists' protest===
[[File:Caricature Gustave Eiffel.png|thumb|upright|Caricature of Gustave Eiffel comparing the Eiffel tower to the [[Egyptian pyramids|Pyramids]], published in ''[[Le Temps (Paris)|Le Temps]]'', 14 February 1887]]

The proposed tower had been a subject of controversy, drawing criticism from those who did not believe it was feasible and those who objected on artistic grounds. Prior to the Eiffel Tower's construction, no structure had ever been constructed to a height of 300 m, or even 200 m for that matter,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=91724959|title=Diagrams - SkyscraperPage.com|website=skyscraperpage.com}}</ref> and many people believed it was impossible. These objections were an expression of a long-standing debate in France about the relationship between architecture and engineering. It came to a head as work began at the Champ de Mars: a "Committee of Three Hundred" (one member for each metre of the tower's height) was formed, led by the prominent architect [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] and including some of the most important figures of the arts, such as [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]], [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Charles Gounod]] and [[Jules Massenet]]. A petition called "Artists against the Eiffel Tower" was sent to the Minister of Works and Commissioner for the Exposition, [[Adolphe Alphand]], and it was published by ''[[Le Temps (Paris)|Le Temps]]'' on 14 February 1887:

{{blockquote|style=text-align:justify|We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection{{nbsp}}... of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower{{nbsp}}... To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the Dome of les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years{{nbsp}}... we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal.<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 174.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=Greg |title=Plea |url=https://www.futilitycloset.com/2021/05/18/plea-3/ |website=Futility Closet |date=18 May 2021}}</ref>}}

[[File:Guillaume Apollinaire Calligramme.JPG|thumb|left|upright|A 1918 [[calligram]] by [[Guillaume Apollinaire]]: {{lang|fr|Salut monde dont je suis la langue éloquente que sa bouche Ô Paris tire et tirera toujours aux allemands}} ("Hello world, of which I am the eloquent tongue which your mouth, O Paris, will forever stick out at the Germans").]]

Gustave Eiffel responded to these criticisms by comparing his tower to the [[Egyptian pyramids]]: "My tower will be the tallest edifice ever erected by man. Will it not also be grandiose in its way? And why would something admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris?"<ref name=Souriau>{{cite book|author1=Paul Souriau|author2=Manon Souriau|title=The Aesthetics of Movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CzUTXhzDb8C&pg=PR7|year=1983|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|isbn=0-87023-412-9|page=100}}</ref> These criticisms were also dealt with by Édouard Lockroy in a letter of support written to Alphand, sardonically saying,<ref>Harvie, 2006 p. 99.</ref> "Judging by the stately swell of the rhythms, the beauty of the metaphors, the elegance of its delicate and precise style, one can tell this protest is the result of collaboration of the most famous writers and poets of our time", and he explained that the protest was irrelevant since the project had been decided upon months before, and construction on the tower was already under way.

Garnier was a member of the Tower Commission that had examined the various proposals, and had raised no objection. Eiffel pointed out to a journalist that it was premature to judge the effect of the tower solely on the basis of the drawings, that the Champ de Mars was distant enough from the monuments mentioned in the protest for there to be little risk of the tower overwhelming them, and putting the aesthetic argument for the tower: "Do not the laws of natural forces always conform to the secret laws of harmony?"<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 176.</ref>

Some of the protesters changed their minds when the tower was built; others remained unconvinced.<ref name=times1_4_89 >{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=The Eiffel Tower|department=News|date=1 April 1889|page=5|issue=32661|column=B|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS84463745&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0}}</ref> [[Guy de Maupassant]] supposedly ate lunch in the tower's restaurant every day because it was the one place in Paris where the tower was not visible.<ref name=Jonnes>{{cite book|author=Jill Jonnes|title=Eiffel's Tower: And the World's Fair where Buffalo Bill Beguiled Paris, the Artists Quarreled, and Thomas Edison Became a Count|url=https://archive.org/details/eiffelstowerworl00jonn|url-access=registration|year=2009|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-02060-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eiffelstowerworl00jonn/page/163 163]–64}}</ref>

By 1918, it had become a symbol of Paris and of France after Guillaume Apollinaire wrote a nationalist poem in the shape of the tower (a [[calligram]]) to express his feelings about the war against Germany.<ref name=Greet>{{cite book|author=Guillaume Apollinaire|editor=Anne Hyde Greet|title=Calligrammes: Poems of Peace and War (1913–1916)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FviP1Cl3jcC|year=1980|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-01968-3|pages=411–414}}</ref> Today, it is widely considered to be a remarkable piece of [[structural art]], and is often featured in films and literature.

===Construction===
[[File:Les fondations de la Tour Eiffel, maçonneries.jpg|thumb|right|[[Foundation (engineering)|Foundations]] of the Eiffel Tower, photographed in 1887]]

Work on the foundations started on 28 January 1887.<ref name=origins>{{cite web |url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/69.html |title=Origins and construction of the Eiffel Tower |author=SETE |website=Official Eiffel Tower website |access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731073057/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/69.html |archive-date=31 July 2015 }}</ref> Those for the east and south legs were straightforward, with each leg resting on four {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} concrete slabs, one for each of the principal girders of each leg. The west and north legs, being closer to the river [[Seine]], were more complicated: each slab needed two [[deep foundation|piles]] installed by using compressed-air [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]]s {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} in diameter driven to a depth of {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 123.</ref> to support the concrete slabs, which were {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick. Each of these slabs supported a block of [[limestone]] with an inclined top to bear a supporting shoe for the ironwork.

Each shoe was anchored to the stonework by a pair of bolts {{convert|10|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|7.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long. The foundations were completed on 30 June, and the erection of the ironwork began. The visible work on-site was complemented by the enormous amount of exacting preparatory work that took place behind the scenes: the drawing office produced 1,700 general drawings and 3,629 detailed drawings of the 18,038 different parts needed.<ref>Loyrette, 1985 p. 148.</ref> The task of drawing the components was complicated by the complex angles involved in the design and the degree of precision required: the position of rivet holes was specified to within {{convert|1|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} and angles worked out to one [[arcsecond|second of arc]].<ref>Eiffel, G; The Eiffel TowerPlate X</ref> The finished components, some already riveted together into sub-assemblies, arrived on horse-drawn carts from a factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of [[Levallois-Perret]] and were first bolted together, with the bolts being replaced with rivets as construction progressed. No drilling or shaping was done on site: if any part did not fit, it was sent back to the factory for alteration. In all, 18,038 pieces were joined using 2.5&nbsp;million rivets.<ref name=origins/>

At first, the legs were constructed as [[cantilever]]s, but about halfway to the first level construction was paused to create a substantial timber [[scaffold]]. This renewed concerns about the structural integrity of the tower, and sensational headlines such as "Eiffel Suicide!" and "Gustave Eiffel Has Gone Mad: He Has Been Confined in an Asylum" appeared in the tabloid press.<ref>Harvie, 2006 p. 110.</ref> Multiple famous artists of that time, [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] and [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas]], thought poorly of the newly made tower. Charles Garnier thought it was a "truly tragic street lamp". Alexandre Dumas said that it was like "Odius shadow of the odious column built of rivets and iron plates extending like a black blot". There were multiple protests over the style and the reasoning of placing it in the middle of Paris.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-30 |title=Eiffel Tower history, architecture, design & construction |url=https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/history |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=www.toureiffel.paris |language=en-US}}</ref> At this stage, a small "creeper" [[crane (machine)|crane]] designed to move up the tower was installed in each leg. They made use of the guides for the lifts which were to be fitted in the four legs. The critical stage of joining the legs at the first level was completed by the end of March 1888.<ref name=origins/> Although the metalwork had been prepared with the utmost attention to detail, provision had been made to carry out small adjustments to precisely align the legs; [[hydraulic]] [[Jack (device)|jacks]] were fitted to the shoes at the base of each leg, capable of exerting a force of 800 tonnes, and the legs were intentionally constructed at a slightly steeper angle than necessary, being supported by [[Sand box (civil engineering)|sandboxes]] on the scaffold. Although construction involved 300 on-site employees,<ref name=origins/> due to Eiffel's safety precautions and the use of movable gangways, guardrails and screens, only one person died.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wonders-of-the-world.net/Eiffel-Tower/Construction-of-the-Eiffel-tower.php|work=wonders-of-the-world.net|title=Construction of the Eiffel Tower}}</ref>

{{Clear}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="125px">
File:Construction tour eiffel.JPG|18 July 1887:<br />The start of the erection of the metalwork
File:Construction tour eiffel2.JPG|7 December 1887:<br />Construction of the legs with scaffolding
File:Construction tour eiffel3.JPG|20 March 1888:<br />Completion of the first level
File:Construction tour eiffel4.JPG|15 May 1888:<br />Start of construction on the second stage
File:Construction tour eiffel5.JPG|{{nowrap|21 August 1888:}}<br />Completion of the second level
File:Construction tour eiffel6.JPG|26 December 1888:<br />Construction of the upper stage
File:Construction tour eiffel7.JPG|{{nowrap|15 March 1889:}}<br />Construction of the [[cupola]]
</gallery>

===Inauguration and the 1889 exposition===
[[File:Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889 - Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt.jpg|thumb|View of the 1889 World's Fair]]

The main structural work was completed at the end of March 1889 and, on 31 March, Eiffel celebrated by leading a group of government officials, accompanied by representatives of the press, to the top of the tower.<ref name=times1_4_89 /> Because the lifts were not yet in operation, the ascent was made by foot, and took over an hour, with Eiffel stopping frequently to explain various features. Most of the party chose to stop at the lower levels, but a few, including the structural engineer, Émile Nouguier, the head of construction, Jean Compagnon, the President of the City Council, and reporters from ''[[Le Figaro]]'' and ''[[Le Monde Illustré]]'', completed the ascent. At 2:35&nbsp;pm, Eiffel hoisted a large [[Flag of France|Tricolour]] to the accompaniment of a 25-gun salute fired at the first level.<ref>Harvie, 2006 pp. 122–23.</ref>

There was still work to be done, particularly on the lifts and facilities, and the tower was not opened to the public until nine days after the opening of the exposition on 6 May; even then, the lifts had not been completed. The tower was an instant success with the public, and nearly 30,000 visitors made the 1,710-step climb to the top before the lifts entered service on 26 May.<ref name=Exposition>{{cite web|url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/70.html |title=The Eiffel Tower during the 1889 Exposition Universelle |author=SETE |website=Official Eiffel Tower website |access-date=16 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425081036/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/70.html |archive-date=25 April 2016 }}</ref> Tickets cost 2 francs for the first level, 3 for the second, and 5 for the top, with half-price admission on Sundays,<ref>Harvie, 2006 pp. 144–45.</ref> and by the end of the exhibition there had been 1,896,987 visitors.<ref name=Key_figures/>

After dark, the tower was lit by hundreds of gas lamps, and a beacon sent out three beams of red, white and blue light. Two searchlights mounted on a circular rail were used to illuminate various buildings of the exposition. The daily opening and closing of the exposition were announced by a cannon at the top.<ref>Harriss, 1975 p. 114</ref>

[[File:Georges Garen embrasement tour Eiffel.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Illumination of the tower at night during the exposition; painted by {{ill|Georges Garen|fr}}, 1889]]

On the second level, the French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' had an office and a printing press, where a special souvenir edition, ''Le Figaro de la Tour'', was made.<ref>Harriss 1975, p. 115</ref>

At the top, there was a post office where visitors could send letters and postcards as a memento of their visit. [[Graffiti]]sts were also catered for: sheets of paper were mounted on the walls each day for visitors to record their impressions of the tower. Gustave Eiffel described the collection of responses as "truly curious".<ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k106381w/f335.image|page=335|title=La Tour de Trois Cents Mètres|author=Eiffel, Gustave|publisher=Lemercier|location=Paris|year=1900|language=fr|quote=On avait disposé sur certains points des parois des feuilles de papier qui étaient enlevées chaque jour, après avoir été complètement recouvertes d’inscriptions de toute nature. La collection en était vraiment curieuse.|trans-quote=Paper sheets had been set up on the walls on various points. Those sheets were removed each day, after having been covored by inscriptions of all nature. It made for a very curious collection.}}</ref>

Famous visitors to the tower included the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]], [[Sarah Bernhardt]], [[William Cody|"Buffalo Bill" Cody]] (his Wild West show was an attraction at the exposition) and [[Thomas Edison]].<ref name=Exposition/> Eiffel invited Edison to his private apartment at the top of the tower, where Edison presented him with one of his [[phonograph]]s, a new invention and one of the many highlights of the exposition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2009/05/thomas-edison-at-eiffel-tower.html|author=Jill Jonnes|publisher=Wonders and Marvels|title=Thomas Edison at the Eiffel Tower|access-date=2 January 2014|date=23 May 2009}}</ref> Edison signed the [[guestbook]] with this message on September 10, 1889: {{blockquote|style=text-align:justify|To M Eiffel the Engineer the brave builder of so gigantic and original specimen of modern Engineering from one who has the greatest respect and admiration for all Engineers including the Great Engineer the Bon Dieu, Thomas Edison.}}

Eiffel made use of his apartment at the top of the tower to carry out [[meteorology|meteorological observations]], and also used the tower to perform experiments on the action of air resistance on falling bodies.<ref>Watson, 1992 p. 829.</ref>

===Subsequent events===
[[File:Vue Lumière No 992 - Panorama pendant l'ascension de la Tour Eiffel (1898).ogv|thumb|Panoramic view during ascent of the Eiffel Tower by the [[Auguste and Louis Lumière|Lumière brothers]], 1898]]

Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years. It was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the [[Paris|City of Paris]]. The city had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it should be easy to dismantle) but as the tower proved to be valuable for many innovations in the early 20th century, particularly [[radio telegraphy]], it was allowed to remain after the expiry of the permit, and from 1910 it also became part of the International Time Service.<ref>{{cite book |title=Michelin Paris: Tourist Guide |date=1985 |publisher=Michelin Tyre Public Limited |isbn=9782060135427 |page=52 |edition=5 }}</ref>

For the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|1900 ''Exposition Universelle'']], the lifts in the east and west legs were replaced by lifts running as far as the second level constructed by the French firm Fives-Lille. These had a compensating mechanism to keep the floor level as the angle of ascent changed at the first level, and were driven by a similar hydraulic mechanism as the Otis lifts, although this was situated at the base of the tower. Hydraulic pressure was provided by pressurised accumulators located near this mechanism.<ref name="vogel_23-4"/> At the same time the lift in the north pillar was removed and replaced by a staircase to the first level. The layout of both first and second levels was modified, with the space available for visitors on the second level. The original lift in the south pillar was removed 13 years later.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[File:Santos-Dumont flight around the Eiffel Tower.jpg|thumbnail|upright|Santos-Dumont No. 5; 13 July 1901]]

On 19 October 1901, [[Alberto Santos-Dumont]], flying his [[Santos-Dumont number 6|No.6]] [[airship]], won a 100,000-franc prize offered by [[Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe]] for the first person to make a flight from [[Saint-Cloud|St. Cloud]] to the Eiffel Tower and back in less than half an hour.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= M. Santos Dumont's Balloon |date=21 October 1901 |page=4 |issue=36591 |column=A |department=News}}</ref>

From 1910, the [[Astronomical clock|astronomical clocks]] of the [[Paris Observatory]] sent the time to sea daily through the Eiffel Tower within a radius of 5 000&nbsp;km.<ref name=":110">{{Cite web |title=Revivre notre histoire {{!}} Les 350 ans de l'Observatoire de Paris |url=http://350ans.obspm.fr/fr/exposition-virtuelle/revivre-notre-histoire |access-date=January 12, 2021 |website=350ans.obspm.fr}}</ref> The development of [[wireless telegraphy]] allowed unifying [[Universal Time]].<ref name=":110" /> On 9 March 1911, France adopted [[Greenwich Mean Time]] by law. However, the law did not refer to [[Prime meridian (Greenwich)|Greenwich Prime Meridian]], but to the [[local mean time]] of Paris delayed by 9 [[Minute|minutes]] and 21 [[Second|seconds]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Giret |first=A. |date=December 1, 1964 |title=Quelle heure est-il ? Rappel des textes définissant l'heure légale en France |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964LAstr..78..465G |journal=L'Astronomie |volume=78 |page=465 |bibcode=1964LAstr..78..465G |issn=0004-6302}}</ref> In 1912, following a report by [[Gustave-Auguste Ferrié|Gustave Ferrié]], the [[Bureau des Longitudes]] organized at the Paris Observatory a ''Conférence internationale de l'heure radiotélégraphique'' (International Radiotelegraph Time Conference). The [[International Time Bureau]] was created and installed in the premises of the Paris Observatory. However, due to [[World War I]], the International Convention was never ratified.<ref name=":272">{{Cite journal |last1=Guinot |first1=B. |year=2000 |title=History of the Bureau International de l'Heure |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2000ASPC..208..175G |journal=IAU Colloq. 178: Polar Motion: Historical and Scientific Problems |volume=208 |page=175 |bibcode=2000ASPC..208..175G |access-date=January 12, 2021}}</ref> In 1919, the existence of the International Time Bureau was formalized under the authority of an International Time Commission, under the aegis of the [[International Astronomical Union]], created by [[Benjamin Baillaud]].<ref name=":110" />

In 1910, [[Priest|Father]] [[Theodor Wulf]] measured [[radiant energy]] at the top and bottom of the tower. He found more at the top than expected, incidentally discovering what are known today as [[cosmic ray]]s.<ref name=Wulf>Theodor Wulf. ''Physikalische Zeitschrift''. Contains results of the four-day-long observation done by Theodor Wulf at the top of the Eiffel Tower in 1910.</ref> Two years later, on 4 February 1912, Austrian tailor [[Franz Reichelt]] died after jumping from the first level of the tower (a height of 57 m) to demonstrate his [[parachute]] design.<ref>{{cite news| title =L'inventeur d'un parachute se lance de le tour Eiffel et s'écrase sur le sol | work =Le Petit Parisien | date =5 February 1912 | url =http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k564237v.r=.langfr | page = 1| language = fr |access-date = 26 November 2009}}</ref> In 1914, at the outbreak of [[World War&nbsp;I]], a radio transmitter located in the tower [[radio jamming|jammed]] German radio communications, seriously hindering their advance on Paris and contributing to the Allied victory at the [[First Battle of the Marne]].<ref name="Tuchman1994">{{cite book|author=Barbara Wertheim Tuchman|title=August 1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uU9sQgAACAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Papermac|isbn=978-0-333-30516-4|page=236}}</ref>

During [[World War I]], the Eiffel Tower's wireless station played a crucial role in intercepting enemy communications from Berlin. In 1914, French forces successfully launched a counter-attack during the Battle of the Marne after gaining critical intelligence on the German Army's movements. In 1917, the station intercepted a coded message between Germany and Spain that referenced 'Operative H-21.' This information contributed to the arrest, conviction, and execution of [[Mata Hari]], the famous spy accused of working for Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Things You May Not Know About the Eiffel Tower - HISTORY |url=https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-eiffel-tower |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=History.com|date=August 2023 }}</ref>

From 1925 to 1934, illuminated signs for [[Citroën]] adorned three of the tower's sides, making it the tallest advertising space in the world at the time.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Oliver |title=40 fascinating facts about the Eiffel Tower |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/paris/articles/Eiffel-Tower-facts/ |access-date=14 November 2019 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=31 March 2018}} {{subscription required}}, (free trial)</ref> In April 1935, the tower was used to make experimental low-resolution television transmissions, using a [[shortwave]] transmitter of 200 watts power. On 17 November, an improved 180-line transmitter was installed.<ref name="Herbert2004">{{cite book|author=Stephen Herbert|title=A History of Early Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BlZF20ggFhsC&pg=PA40|volume=2|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-32667-4|page=40}}</ref>

[[File:Delaunay - Tour Eiffel.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.78|The Eiffel Tower has been a subject of art, as in ''[[Champs de Mars: The Red Tower]]'', a 1911 [[Cubism|cubist]] painting by [[Robert Delaunay]]]]

On two separate but related occasions in 1925, the con artist [[Victor Lustig]] "sold" the tower for scrap metal.<ref name="Letcher2003">{{cite book|author=Piers Letcher|title=Eccentric France: The Bradt Guide to Mad, Magical and Marvellous France|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_7IRHZGyzMC|year=2003|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-068-8|page=105}}</ref> A year later, in February 1926, pilot Leon Collet was killed trying to fly under the tower. His aircraft became entangled in an aerial belonging to a wireless station.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58237145 |title = An air tragedy | newspaper= The Sunday Times | date= 28 February 1926|location=Perth, WA |access-date=2 January 2012}}</ref> A [[bust (sculpture)|bust]] of Gustave Eiffel by [[Antoine Bourdelle]] was unveiled at the base of the north leg on 2 May 1929.<ref>Harriss, 1976 p. 178.</ref> In 1930, the tower lost the title of the [[List of tallest freestanding structures in the world#Timeline of world's tallest freestanding structures|world's tallest structure]] when the [[Chrysler Building]] in New York City was completed.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Silver Spire: How two men's dreams changed the skyline of New York |author=Claudia Roth Pierpont |url=http://www.jayebee.com/discoveries/criticism/silver_spire.htm |magazine=The New Yorker |date=18 November 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227015047/http://www.jayebee.com/discoveries/criticism/silver_spire.htm|archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref> In 1938, the decorative arcade around the first level was removed.<ref>Harriss, 1976 p. 195.</ref>

Upon the [[Military Administration in France (Nazi Germany)|German occupation]] of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were [[sabotage|cut]] by the French. The tower was  restricted to German visitors during the occupation and the lifts were not repaired until 1946.<ref name="Harriss_80_4">Harriss, 1976 pp. 180–84.</ref> In 1940, German soldiers had to climb the tower to hoist a swastika-centred [[Reichskriegsflagge]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675021843_Battle-of-France_unfurl-Nazi-flag_Palace-of-Versailles_Eiffel-Tower_Place-de-la-Concorde|title=HD Stock Video Footage – The Germans unfurl Nazi flags at the captured Palace of Versailles and Eiffel Tower during the Battle of France.|website=www.criticalpast.com}}</ref> but the flag was so large it blew away just a few hours later, and was replaced by a smaller one.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/paris/articles/Eiffel-Tower-facts/|title=Eiffel Tower: 40 fascinating facts|first=Oliver|last=Smith|date=4 February 2016|via=www.telegraph.co.uk|newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref> When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. When the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] were nearing Paris in August 1944, Hitler ordered General [[Dietrich von Choltitz]], the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order.<ref name="D'Este2003">{{cite book|author=Carlo D'Este|title=Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RCeteK7LEiYC&pg=PA574|year=2003|publisher=Henry Holt and Company|isbn=978-0-8050-5687-7|page=574}}</ref> On 25 August, before the Germans had been [[Liberation of Paris|driven out of Paris]], the German flag was replaced with a Tricolour by two men from the [[Musée national de la Marine|French Naval Museum]], who narrowly beat three men led by Lucien Sarniguet, who had lowered the Tricolour on 13 June 1940 when Paris fell to the Germans.<ref name="Harriss_80_4"/>

A fire started in the television transmitter on 3 January 1956, damaging the top of the tower. Repairs took a year, and in 1957, the present radio aerial was added to the top.<ref name=events>{{cite web|url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/the-major-events.html|author=SETE|website=Official Eiffel Tower website|title=The major events|access-date=13 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331214620/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/the-major-events.html|archive-date=31 March 2015}}</ref> In 1964, the Eiffel Tower was officially declared to be a historical monument by the Minister of Cultural Affairs, [[André Malraux]].<ref>Harriss, 1976 p. 215.</ref> A year later, an additional lift system was installed in the north pillar.<ref name="official-website-lifts"/>

According to interviews, in 1967, [[Montreal]] Mayor [[Jean Drapeau]] negotiated a secret agreement with [[Charles de Gaulle]] for the tower to be dismantled and temporarily relocated to Montreal to serve as a landmark and tourist attraction during [[Expo 67]]. The plan was allegedly vetoed by the company operating the tower out of fear that the French government could refuse permission for the tower to be restored in its original location.<ref>{{cite news |title=How this city nearly got the Eiffel Tower |author=Nick Auf der Maur |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eJckAAAAIBAJ&pg=1682%2C2718377 |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=15 September 1980 |access-date=29 May 2013}}</ref>

In 1982, the original lifts between the second and third levels were replaced after 97 years in service. These had been closed to the public between November and March because the water in the hydraulic drive tended to freeze. The new cars operate in pairs, with one counterbalancing the other, and perform the journey in one stage, reducing the journey time from eight minutes to less than two minutes. At the same time, two new emergency staircases were installed, replacing the original spiral staircases. In 1983, the south pillar was fitted with an electrically driven Otis lift to serve the [[Le Jules Verne|Jules Verne]] restaurant.<ref>Harvie, 2006 p. 130.</ref> The Fives-Lille lifts in the east and west legs, fitted in 1899, were extensively refurbished in 1986. The cars were replaced, and a computer system was installed to completely automate the lifts. The [[Power (physics)|motive power]] was moved from the water hydraulic system to a new electrically driven oil-filled hydraulic system, and the original water hydraulics were retained solely as a counterbalance system.<ref name="official-website-lifts">{{cite web |url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/98.html |title=The Eiffel Tower's lifts |author=SETE |website=Official Eiffel Tower website |access-date=15 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407014958/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/themed-files/98.html |archive-date=7 April 2016 }}</ref> A service lift was added to the south pillar for moving small loads and maintenance personnel three years later.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[Robert Moriarty]] flew a [[Beechcraft Bonanza]] under the tower on 31 March 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://proairshow.com/Eiffel.htm|access-date=4 April 2008|title=A Bonanza in Paris|author=Robert J. Moriarty|work=Air & Space Magazine}}</ref> In 1987, [[A. J. Hackett]] made one of his first [[Bungee jumping|bungee jumps]] from the top of the Eiffel Tower, using a special cord he had helped develop. Hackett was arrested by the police.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/extreme-bid-to-stretch-bungy-record/2007/02/27/1172338606150.html |author=Gibson, Jano |title=Extreme bid to stretch bungy record|work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=27 February 2007 |access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> On 27 October 1991, Thierry Devaux, along with mountain guide Hervé Calvayrac, performed a series of acrobatic figures while bungee jumping from the second floor of the tower. Facing the Champ de Mars, Devaux used an electric winch between figures to go back up to the second floor. When firemen arrived, he stopped after the sixth jump.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thierrydevaux.com/tour-eiffel.html|title=Tour Eiffel|website=Thierry Devaux|language=fr|access-date=19 March 2019}}</ref>

[[File:2013 Fireworks on Eiffel Tower 11.jpg|thumb|left|The tower is a focal point for New Year's Eve and [[Bastille Day]] celebrations.]]

For its "Countdown to the Year 2000" celebration on 31 December 1999, flashing lights and high-powered [[searchlight]]s were installed on the tower. During the last three minutes of the year, the lights were turned on starting from the base of the tower and continuing to the top to welcome 2000 with a huge fireworks show. An exhibition above a cafeteria on the first floor commemorates this event. The searchlights on top of the tower made it a beacon in Paris's night sky, and 20,000 flashing bulbs gave the tower a sparkly appearance for five minutes every hour on the hour.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Eiffel Tower's illuminations |url=http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/the-illuminations.html |author=SETE |website=Official Eiffel Tower website |access-date=31 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822233206/http://www.toureiffel.paris/en/everything-about-the-tower/the-illuminations.html |archive-date=22 August 2015 }}</ref>

The lights sparkled blue for several nights to herald the new millennium on 31 December 2000. The sparkly lighting continued for 18 months until July 2001. The sparkling lights were turned on again on 21 June 2003, and the display was planned to last for 10 years before they needed replacing.<ref name="allyouneed"/>

The tower received its {{Formatnum:200000000}}th guest on 28 November 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france.com/editorials/eiffel_tower/|title=The Eiffel Tower|publisher=France.com|date=23 October 2003|access-date=16 April 2016}}</ref> The tower has operated at its maximum capacity of about 7&nbsp;million visitors per year since 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/21/paris-eiffel-tower-renovation-profits-higher|title=Eiffel Tower renovation work aims to take profits to new heights|work=The Guardian|date=21 April 2014|access-date=14 April 2016|author=Cosnard, Denis}}</ref> In 2004, the Eiffel Tower began hosting a seasonal ice rink on the first level.<ref name="PorterPrince2006">{{cite book|author1=Porter, Darwin |author2=Danforth Prince|author3=G. McDonald|author4=H. Mastrini|author5=S. Marker|author6=A. Princz|author7=C. Bánfalvy|author8=A. Kutor|author9=N. Lakos|author10=S. Rowan Kelleher|title=Frommer's Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNuTMgEACAAJ|edition=9th|year=2006|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-471-92265-0|page=318}}</ref> A [[glass floor]] was installed on the first level during the 2014 refurbishment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29512762|title=Eiffel Tower gets glass floor in refurbishment project|work=BBC News|date=6 October 2014|access-date= 6 October 2014}}</ref>{{Clear}}