Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French engineer.

Eiffel was born Alexandre Gustave Bönickhausen on December 15th, 1832 in Cote-d'Or, France. Eiffel's family name was Bönickhausen, although the family generally used Eiffel. It was not until 1880 that Eiffel officially changed his name from Bonickhausen. Eiffel attended classes at the Lycee Royal and was educated by various family members in a variety of sciences. He was accepted to two notable schools in Paris finally deciding to go with EÉcole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures where he graduated with a degree in chemistry.

When Eiffel graduated, family squabbles prevented him from going to work for his uncle as he planned. Eventually he went to work for Charles Nepveu. When Nepveu sold his company, he made sure to find a place for Eiffel at Compagnie Belge de Materiels de Chemin de Fer the company which acquired Nepveu's. Nepveu gave Eiffel his first major project the Bordeaux bridge.

In 1865, Eiffel departed Compagnie Belge de Materiels de Chemin de Fer as the economy had gotten bad and the company was nearing collapse. After leaving the company he became an independent consulting engineer. In 1866 he received a contract from the Egyptian government for Eiffel to oversee the construction of 33 locomotives. The job was high in profit and undemanding. Eiffel was able to travel to Egypt and visit the Suez Canal. Eiffel at the same time did work for the Exposition Universelle of 1867 by designing arch girders. He also conducted experiments to determine the modulous elasticity of cast iron.

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