Gustave Eiffel
1832 - 1923
HPI 83.2595 languages
Gustave Eiffel is most famous for his work on the Eiffel Tower.
The Most Famous
Engineers from France
62 notable people
Top 10 French Engineers
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary French Engineers of all time. This list of famous French Engineers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of French Engineers.
#1 #2 
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot
1796 - 1832
HPI 77.6870 languagesNicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French physicist and engineer. He is most famous for his work on the Carnot cycle, which is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the conversion of heat into work.
#3 
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
1633 - 1707
HPI 73.8452 languagesSébastien le Prestre de Vauban was a French military engineer who is most famous for his work on fortifications. He wrote a book called "The Art of War" which is still used by military engineers today.
#4 
André Citroën
1878 - 1935
HPI 73.4349 languagesAndré Citroën is most famous for the introduction of the Citroën DS, the first mass-produced car with a unitary body, in 1955.
#5 
Villard de Honnecourt
1200 - 1250
HPI 68.4925 languagesVillard de Honnecourt is most famous for being the first person to write a book on architecture.
#6 
Marcel Dassault
1892 - 1986
HPI 65.8533 languagesFrench aircraft industrialist (1892-1986)
#7 
Marcel Renault
1872 - 1903
HPI 65.3525 languagesFrench racing driver (1872–1903)
#8 
Henri Farman
1874 - 1958
HPI 65.2629 languagesFrench pilot, aviator and aircraft designer and manufacturer
#9 
Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt
1240 - 1300
HPI 64.3721 languagesearly investigator of magnetism
#10 
Paul Cornu
1881 - 1944
HPI 63.9925 languagesFrench engineer (1881–1944)
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Frenchs Engineers grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
1970s(1)
1960s(1)
1940s(1)
1930s(1)
1920s(1)
1900s(1)
1890s(1)
1850s(6)
1800s(6)
1770s(1)
1750s(1)
1630s(1)
1600s(1)
1240s(1)
1200s(1)
Overlapping Lives
Which Engineers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Engineers since 1700.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
