The French tower builder who sparked the skyscraper frenzy

Eiffel designed the tower that would bear his name for the World Fair in Paris in 1889. Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP

French engineer and entrepreneur Gustave Eiffel will forever be remembered for building the much-loved tower that has dominated the Paris skyline for over a century.

But the father of the Eiffel Tower also designed hundreds of other landmarks across the globe, and even patented a system of underwater “bridges” to run under the Channel.