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The Eiffel Tower has the names of 72 prominent French scientists, engineers, and mathematicians engraved on its four sides, just beneath the first balcony. These names were chosen by Gustave Eiffel himself to honor their contributions to science and technology, and they were originally painted in gold (though today they’re more subdued). The names are etched into the iron framework and span all four sides of the tower, with 18 names per side. Here’s a breakdown by side:

North Side (facing the Champ de Mars)
This side is often considered the "front" of the tower as it faces central Paris:

Seguin (Marc Seguin) - Engineer, pioneer of suspension bridges and steam locomotives.
Lalande (Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande) - Astronomer.
Tresca (Henri Tresca) - Mechanical engineer.
Poncelet (Jean-Victor Poncelet) - Mathematician and engineer, known for geometry.
Bresse (Jacques Antoine Charles Bresse) - Civil engineer, worked on structural mechanics.
Lagrange (Joseph-Louis Lagrange) - Mathematician and astronomer, key figure in mechanics.
Belanger (Jean-Baptiste-Charles Belanger) - Hydraulic engineer.
Cuvier (Georges Cuvier) - Naturalist, founder of comparative anatomy.
Laplace (Pierre-Simon Laplace) - Mathematician and astronomer, known for celestial mechanics.
Dulong (Pierre Louis Dulong) - Chemist and physicist, co-discovered Dulong-Petit law.
Chasles (Michel Chasles) - Mathematician, worked on geometry.
Lavoisier (Antoine Lavoisier) - Chemist, father of modern chemistry.
Ampere (André-Marie Ampère) - Physicist, pioneer in electromagnetism.
Chevreul (Michel Eugène Chevreul) - Chemist, studied fats and color theory.
Flachat (Eugène Flachat) - Engineer, worked on railways.
Navier (Claude-Louis Navier) - Engineer and physicist, known for fluid mechanics.
Fourier (Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier) - Mathematician, developed Fourier series.
Bichat (Marie François Xavier Bichat) - Anatomist and physiologist.

East Side (facing the Seine and Right Bank)
Ebelmen (Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen) - Chemist, worked on glass and ceramics.
Coriolis (Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis) - Mathematician, known for the Coriolis effect.
Triger (Jacques Triger) - Engineer, invented the caisson for underwater work.
Poinsot (Louis Poinsot) - Mathematician, worked on mechanics.
Fresnel (Augustin-Jean Fresnel) - Physicist, pioneer in optics (lenses).
De Prony (Gaspard de Prony) - Engineer and mathematician.
Vicq d'Azyr (Félix Vicq-d'Azyr) - Anatomist, early neuroscientist.
Hachette (Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette) - Mathematician.
Carnot (Sadi Carnot) - Physicist, founder of thermodynamics.
Lamé (Gabriel Lamé) - Mathematician and engineer.
Clapeyron (Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron) - Engineer, worked on thermodynamics.
Borda (Jean-Charles de Borda) - Mathematician and physicist.
Delambre (Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre) - Astronomer.
Malus (Étienne-Louis Malus) - Physicist, discovered polarization of light.
Breguet (Abraham-Louis Breguet) - Watchmaker and physicist.
Polonceau (Camille Polonceau) - Engineer, worked on railways.
Dumas (Jean-Baptiste Dumas) - Chemist.
Poisson (Siméon Denis Poisson) - Mathematician, known for probability theory.

South Side (facing the École Militaire)
Petiet (Jules Petiet) - Engineer, worked on locomotives.
Cauchy (Augustin-Louis Cauchy) - Mathematician, pioneer in analysis.
Belgrand (Eugène Belgrand) - Engineer, designed Paris’s sewer system.
Regnault (Henri Victor Regnault) - Chemist and physicist.
Chaptal (Jean-Antoine Chaptal) - Chemist and statesman.
Monge (Gaspard Monge) - Mathematician, founder of descriptive geometry.
Jamin (Jules Célestin Jamin) - Physicist, worked on optics.
Gay-Lussac (Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac) - Chemist and physicist, known for gas laws.
Fizeau (Hippolyte Fizeau) - Physicist, measured the speed of light.
Schneider (Eugène Schneider) - Industrialist, engineer.
Le Verrier (Urbain Le Verrier) - Astronomer, predicted Neptune’s existence.
Perrier (François Perrier) - Geographer and mathematician.
Sturm (Jacques Charles François Sturm) - Mathematician.
Cail (Jean-François Cail) - Engineer and industrialist.
Goüin (Ernest Goüin) - Engineer, worked on bridges and railways.
Jousselin (Louis Didier Jousselin) - Engineer, worked on canals.
Broca (Paul Broca) - Anthropologist and neurosurgeon.
Becquerel (Antoine César Becquerel) - Physicist, worked on electricity.

West Side (facing Trocadéro)
Puisieux (Pierre-Joseph de Puisieux) - Engineer (less commonly noted, possibly a variant).
Daguerre (Louis Daguerre) - Inventor of the daguerreotype (photography).
Wurtz (Charles Adolphe Wurtz) - Chemist.
Le Chatelier (Henri Louis Le Chatelier) - Chemist, known for Le Chatelier’s principle.
Cailletet (Louis-Paul Cailletet) - Physicist, liquefied gases.
Arago (François Arago) - Astronomer and physicist.
Morin (Arthur Morin) - Engineer and physicist.
Combes (Charles-Pierre-Mathieu Combes) - Engineer, worked on mines.
Thenard (Louis Jacques Thénard) - Chemist, discovered hydrogen peroxide.
Giffard (Henri Giffard) - Engineer, invented the steam injector and airship.
Berthelot (Marcelin Berthelot) - Chemist, worked on organic synthesis.
Barral (Jean-Augustin Barral) - Chemist and agronomist.
Deville (Henri Sainte-Claire Deville) - Chemist, isolated aluminum.
Kuhn (Adolphe Kuhn) - Engineer (less documented, possibly railway-related).
Mayer (Julius Robert Mayer) - Physicist, early thermodynamics theorist (though German, included here).
Comte (Auguste Comte) - Philosopher, founder of positivism.
Peclet (Eugène Péclet) - Physicist, worked on heat transfer.
Sauvage (Frédéric Sauvage) - Engineer, worked on screw propellers.

Fun Facts
The names were chosen to counter criticism that the tower was just an artistic folly, showcasing France’s scientific legacy instead.
They’re written in all caps (e.g., LAVOISIER) and can be hard to spot without binoculars due to weathering and their position about 57 meters up.
No women are included, reflecting the era’s gender biases in science (late 19th century).