Benjamin Latrobe (1764-1820)
Architect of the Capitol etc., of Washington D.C.
He trained in England under Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1757-1827). In 1796, he emigrated to America (his mother was a native of Pennsylvania) where he is best known as the architect of the United States Capitol and as the man who repaired and improved The White House after the British put it to the torch in 1814. He designed over 60-private homes with a client list that included Robert Carter Burwell, John Markoe, etc., but he said the "best house I ever designed" was the Van Ness House which bears a distinct similarity to his second private commission in England, Ashdown House. His only remaining residential building in America is the historic Decatur House in Washington D.C., though the design of Belvidere in New York is also attributed to him. He was married twice and had eight children of whom five (listed) survived infancy.
