# Eiffel Tower completed (1889)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1889-eiffel-tower-completed
Location: Paris

Built for the Exposition Universelle, the tower became a symbol of industrial modernity and Paris. Within the broader Third Republic period, The Third Republic survived war, the Commune, constitutional crises and fierce ideological conflict. It expanded mass schooling and empire, faced the Dreyfus Affair, fought World War I and entered the troubled interwar era. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Sadi Carnot (President of the French Republic). Eiffel Tower completed mattered because cultural and intellectual institutions helped shape French identity and France’s influence beyond its borders. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Eiffel Tower completed mattered because cultural and intellectual institutions helped shape French identity and France’s influence beyond its borders.

Ruler at the time: [Sadi Carnot](https://history-france.com/rulers/sadi-carnot)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Eiffel Tower completed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Eiffel+Tower+completed&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Eiffel Tower completed](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Eiffel+Tower+completed)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)