Paris is planning to add the names of 72 women scientists to the Eiffel Tower, matching the 72 men chosen by Gustave Eiffel to be immortalized in 60cm high gold letters on the monument.
The new initiative, supported by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and several organizations, hopes to have the names up by the end of this year, although that time frame seems tight, since a committee charged with nominations has not yet presented its report.
The committee is charged with selecting among women in ‘hard science’ who lived between 1789 and the present, are not living, and had strong ties to France. As with Eiffel’s original selection there is a requirement that the names be 12 letters or less.
