The Eiffel Tower: A Universal Monument to Science | Book

Discover the book dedicated to the scientific aspects of the Eiffel Tower, written by Thierry Rayer
with a foreword by Philippe Coupérie-Eiffel and a scientific contribution by Françoise Combes.

A book devoted to the Eiffel Tower’s scientific legacy

The Committee for the Individual Inscription of the Eiffel Tower on the World Heritage List presents The Eiffel Tower: A Universal Monument to Science, a book exploring the scientific, historical, architectural and heritage dimensions of the monument.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book examines the Eiffel Tower as an architecture born of calculation, a major achievement of nineteenth-century engineering, a site of scientific experimentation and a place where scientific knowledge and memory are transmitted.

The publication forms part of the Committee’s initiative to secure individual recognition of the Eiffel Tower as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bringing together history, science and transmission

Written by Thierry Rayer, author and scientific director, the book includes a foreword by Philippe Coupérie-Eiffel, a direct descendant of Gustave Eiffel and co-founder and co-president of the Committee.

It also features a scientific contribution by Françoise Combes, astrophysicist, President of the French Academy of Sciences and recipient of the CNRS Gold Medal. Her contribution connects the Eiffel Tower’s historical role as a site of scientific experimentation with the contemporary question of women’s representation in the history of science.

The book notably examines the seventy-two names of scientists inscribed on the monument and the current initiative to give women scientists a place within this scientific legacy.

Title: The Eiffel Tower: A Universal Monument to Science
Author and scientific director: Thierry Rayer
Foreword by: Philippe Coupérie-Eiffel
Scientific contribution by: Françoise Combes
Publisher: Cercle d’Études Scientifiques Pierre Rayer
Series: Universæ Analysis
First edition: 2026
Format: PDF
Language: English
Digital edition ISBN: 978-2-489407-02-0
Price: Free

The English digital edition of the book is available for free download.