Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bönickhausen; ; French pronunciation: [ɛfɛl]; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer and architect. A graduate of École Centrale Paris, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway network, most famously the Garabit viaduct. He is best known for the world-famous Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and his contribution to building the Statue of Liberty in New York.