31 March 1889
New Moon, 0% lit
The Eiffel Tower opens
Paris got its tower at new moon, over the loud objections of most of its writers and artists.
A petition signed by Maupassant, Dumas and others called it a "useless and monstrous" iron streetlamp. It was meant to be dismantled after twenty years and was saved because it made an excellent radio antenna.
- Date
- 31 March 1889
- Moon computed for
- 12:00 local time, UTC+0:10The time of day is not recorded here, so noon stands in.
- Phase
- New Moon
- Illuminated
- 0%
Source: Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel