Iron Lady (Eiffel Tower nickname)

“Iron Lady” (“La dame de fer” in French) is the popular nickname of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Although the Eiffel Tower was opened in 1889, the “Iron Lady” nickname began to be used much later, in the 1930s.
   
“Lady Eiffel Celebrates A Victory” by Camille Lemercier was printed in the Chicago (IL) Daily News on May 15, 1929. “THE Eiffel Tower—Lady Eiffel is just 40 years old” was printed in the Kansas City (MO) Star on June 4, 1929. “THUS would pass one of the world’s most celebrated—if ugliest—monuments, bitterly resented by Parisians in the first years of its existence but later beloved as ‘Lady Eiffel’ and a possession peculiarly their own” was printed in the Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer on January 16, 1944. “The world-famous ‘tall lady in iron lace,’ Paris’ Eiffel Tower, is about to go musical.  (...) The ‘tall lady,’ who recently had her 25 millionth visitor, was built in 1889” was printed in the Buffalo (NY) Courier-Express on September 20, 1953.
 
“Mais il faut souhaiter qu’on prolonge l plus longtemps possible la vie de cette grande dame de fer q’Apollinaire appelait ‘bergere de nuages’” (“But we must hope that the life of this great iron lady that Apollinaire called ‘shepherd of clouds’ will be prolonged as long as possible”) was printed in La Liberté du Sud-Ouest on March 27, 1936. “La «dame de fer» fêtait ses 75 ans” was printed in Feuille d’avis de Neuchâtel (L’Express) on May 4, 1964. “Helicopters and rockets have been suggested to solve the problem (slow elevators—ed.), but Sllavik confessed to me, ‘I am forcing myself to respect the vestal decorum of this old iron lady. I shall not embarrass her by pulling up her skirts or defame her by dressing her in mini-skits, if you know what I mean’” was printed in the Chronicle Sunday Punch (San Francisco, CA) on October 9, 1966.
 
“Iron Lady” was also the nickname of British stateswoman and Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. “The Soviet Defence Ministry newspaper ‘Red Star’ today labeled Tory leader Margaret Thatcher as ‘The Iron Lady’ and accused her of seeking to revive the cold war” was printed in the Lincolnshire (UK) Echo on January 24, 1976.
   
 
Wikipedia: Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower (/ˈaɪfəl/ EYE-fəl; French: Tour Eiffel [tuʁ ɛfɛl] ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.

Locally nicknamed “La dame de fer” (French for “Iron Lady”), it was constructed as the centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair, and to crown the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. Although initially criticised by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.
 
Wikipedia: Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, DStJ, PC, FRS, HonFRSC (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.
   
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Iron Lady
noun
With the. A nickname for: Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), Conservative politician and British Prime Minister (1979–90), with reference to her allegedly ruthless and inflexible stance, esp. with regard to foreign policy. Also in extended use: any determined, strong, or unyielding woman.
1976
The Soviet defence ministry newspaper Red Star yesterday called Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher, ‘The iron lady’ and accused her of trying to revive the cold war.
Sunday Times 25 January 3/2
1976
I stand before you tonight in my red chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my fair hair gently waved… The Iron Lady of the Western World! Me?
M. Thatcher in Sunday Times 1 February 1/2
1977
He then threatened the unions with the spectre of the iron lady.
Economist 23 July 81/2
     
15 May 1929, Chicago (IL) Daily News, Midweek Features sec., pg. 10, col. 1:
LADY EIFFEL CELEBRATES A VICTORY
by Camille Lemercier
Paris, France, April 30.—Her highness the Eiffel tower was 40 this month.
 
Newspapers.com
4 June 1929, Kansas City (MO) Star, pg. E, col. 3:
THE EIFFEL TOWER, JUST FORTY YEARS OLD,
WEARS ITS HONORS IN GRACEFUL DIGNITY
Opposed and Ridiculed by Literary and Artistic Intelligentsia of the Day, the “Ugly Duckling” of Engineering in Its Years of Association and Faithful Service Has Won Its Way Into the Hearts of the Populace
THE Eiffel Tower—Lady Eiffel is just 40 years old.
 
Gallica
27 March 1936, La Liberté du Sud-Ouest, pg. 2, col. 2:
La tour prends garde!
Faut-il croire cette nouvelle? Il est question, apres l’Exposition de 1937, d’abbatre la Tour Eiffel. On nous a souvent dit que la duree de la Tour etait provisiore et sans doute la resistance de ses poutres et de ses ecrous touche-t-elle a sa fin. Mais il faut souhaiter qu’on prolonge l plus longtemps possible la vie de cette grande dame de fer q’Apollinaire appelait “bergere de nuages”. Car, sans la Tour Eiffel, qui inspira tour a tour Jean Cocteau, Jean Giraudoux, Leon-Paul Fargue et Rene Clair, Paris ne serait plus desormais tout a fait Paris!
[The Tower beware! Paris,—Should we believe this news? There was talk, after the 1937 Exhibition, of tearing down the Eiffel Tower. We have often been told that the duration of the Tower is provisional and undoubtedly the strength of its beams and its nuts is coming to an end. But we must hope that the life of this great iron lady that Apollinaire called “shepherd of clouds” will be prolonged as long as possible. Because, without the Eiffel Tower, which in turn inspired Jean Cocteau, Jean Giraudoux, Leon-Paul Fargue and Rene Clair, Paris would no longer be quite Paris!]
 
(GenealogyBank.com)
15 May 1936, La Justice de Biddeford (Biddleford, ME), pg. 6, col. 7:
La Tour prend garde!
Paris,—Faut-il croire cette nouvelle? Il est question, apres l’Exposition de 1937, d’abbatre la Tour Eiffel. On nous a souvent dit que la duree de la Tour etait provisiore et sans doute la resistance de ses poutres et de ses ecrous touche-t-elle a sa fin. Mais il faut souhaiter qu’on prolonge l plus longtemps possible la vie de cette grande dame de fer q’Apollinaire appelait “bergere de nuages”. Car, sans la Tour Eiffel, qui inspira tour a tour Jean Cocteau, Jean Giraudoux, Leon-Paul Fargue et Rene Clair, Paris ne serait plus desormais tout a fait Paris!
[The Tower beware! Paris,—Should we believe this news? There was talk, after the 1937 Exhibition, of tearing down the Eiffel Tower. We have often been told that the duration of the Tower is provisional and undoubtedly the strength of its beams and its nuts is coming to an end. But we must hope that the life of this great iron lady that Apollinaire called “shepherd of clouds” will be prolonged as long as possible. Because, without the Eiffel Tower, which in turn inspired Jean Cocteau, Jean Giraudoux, Leon-Paul Fargue and Rene Clair, Paris would no longer be quite Paris!]
 
Newspapers.com
16 January 1944, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “Nazis Plan to Raze Eiffel Tower” by Olia Philippoff, Everybody’s Weekly, pg. 2, col. 4:
THUS would pass one of the world’s most celebrated—if ugliest—monuments, bitterly resented by Parisians in the first years of its existence but later beloved as “Lady Eiffel” and a possession peculiarly their own.
 
Newspapers.com
20 September 1953, Buffalo (NY) Courier-Express, pg. 31-C, col. 2:
World-Famous
Eiffel Tower
Goes Musical
Paris, Sept. 19.—The world-famous “tall lady in iron lace,” Paris’ Eiffel Tower, is about to go musical. 
(...)
The “tall lady,” who recently had her 25 millionth visitor, was built in 1889.
   
E-Newspaper Archives
4 May 1964, Feuille d’avis de Neuchâtel (L’Express), pg. 1, col. 2:
Une façon comme une autre de dire «bon anniversaire»
Les «conquérants de l’inutile» ont mis près de cinq heures pour vaincre la Tour Eiffel
La «dame de fer» fêtait ses 75 ans
PARIS (UPI). — «Les conquérants de l’inutile» — l’expression est de Lionel Terray, le vainqueur de l’Anapurna — ont. dès le début de l’aprèsmidi d’hier, bravant pluie et vent, entrepris la difficile escalade de la tour Eiffel.
     
Newspapers.com
9 October 1966, Chronicle Sunday Punch (San Francisco, CA), “Drugstore in The Eiffel Tower” by Ferris Hartman, pg. 4, col. 1:
Helicopters and rockets have been suggested to solve the problem (slow elevators—ed.), but Sllavik confessed to me, “I am forcing myself to respect the vestal decorum of this old iron lady. I shall not embarrass her by pulling up her skirts or defame her by dressing her in mini-skits, if you know what I mean.”
 
Newspapers.com
8 September 1971, Des Moines (IA) Tribune, pg. 14, col. 2:
60 MILLION HAVE SEEN PARIS FROM ‘IRON LADY’
Eiffel Tower: Queen of Attractions in France
 
Newspapers.com
10 October 1972, Los Angeles (CA) Times, pt. 1, pg. 7, col. 1 photo caption:
THE OLD ‘IRON LADY’— Paris’ Eiffel Tower, whose corrosion reportedly will force France to decide whether to tear the 93-year-old landmark down.
 
Newspapers.com
24 January 1976, Lincolnshire (UK) Echo, “Russia slams the ‘Ion Lady,’” pg. 2, col. 8:
The Soviet Defence Ministry newspaper “Red Star” today labeled Tory leader Margaret Thatcher as “The Iron Lady” and accused her of seeking to revive the cold war.
 
The newspaper’s commentator, Captain Y Gavrilov, described a speech Ms. Thatcher made on Monday accusing the Kremlin of boosting its military presence all round the world as “viciously anti-Soviet.”
 
La Tour Eiffel
The Iron Lady: nicknaming the Eiffel Tower
Monday 22 November 2021 Modified the 27/05/22
(...)
Why is the monument a lady?
While the name, the “Eiffel Tower”, entered the common language at the time of its inauguration, its female nature appeared more gradually over the 20th century. Of course, it can be traced back to the fact that the noun “tour” or tower in French is feminine. And if we add a bit of anthropomorphism, we can see that the monument’s four pillars, also known as legs or feet, are covered with a lacy “skirt”, from the mesh structure enhanced with fine decorative arches between the pillars.
As a symbol of the arrival of iron, industry and science, the Eiffel Tower can also be seen to be in an atypical conversation with another lady of Paris, her Gothic older sister and symbol of religion, Notre-Dame.
In the 1930s, when the Tower was nearing 50 years old, various nicknames flourished in the press and publications:  “the Tall Lady”, “the Tall Beautiful Lady”, then “the Tall Iron Lady”, sometimes, remarking on her age, it was “the Old Iron Lady”... However, it was simply “the Iron Lady” which stuck and was picked up particularly by the press.
 
Why iron?
Of course, this is the metal that the Tower’s structure is made out of: more precisely, puddled iron, which has undergone specific processing to make it purer and even more durable, while remaining less rigid than steel and lighter.