Eiffel was born in on 15 1832. He began his education at the Lyçée de Dijon and later attended the Collège in Paris. He graduated from The Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in 1855.

In 1862 Eiffel married Marie and they had five . She died of pneumonia in . From to he worked as an engineer for the French Western Railway Company, building innovative bridges.

In he founded his own engineering company, Eiffel Inc. From then on, and before he won the design competition for the building that would commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, he completed many works:

- the Rouzat , which crosses the River in France,
- a style department store, the Magasin au , in Paris in ,
- the Nyugati Railroad Station in Budapest, ,
- Maria-Pia , over the River in Porto, Portugal,
- the Viaduct over the Truyere River in France,
- the interior workings of The .

The was completed in 1889.