A man planned to blow up the Eiffel Tower because its reflected light was shining into his bedroom and was keeping him awake

Several decades ago, a man, Ivan Vladimirovitch Chtcheglov, planned to blow up the Eiffel Tower because its reflected light was shining into his attic room and was keeping him awake.


Chtcheglov was born on 16 January 1933 in Paris. He had a mixed heritage. His father, Vladimir Chtchegloff, was Ukrainian and his mother, Hélene Zavadsky, was French.

Ivan was a French poet, activist, and political theorist. His father Vladimir was a revolutionary. After the 1905 Revolution, the father was sentenced to two years in prison. After he was released, Vladimir Chtcheglov left the Russian Empire. In 1910, Vladimir and his wife moved to Paris where he worked as a taxi driver. He took part in the 1911 driver strike.

Ivan Vladimirovitch Chtcheglov and his friend Henry de Béarn planned to blow up the Eiffel Tower with dynamite because its reflected light was shining through their shared attic room and it did not allow them to sleep at night. Ivan was arrested and later sent to a mental hospital by his wife. He remained at the institution for 5 years. He died on 21 April 1998.