Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Sr.

Maryland Historical Society

Benjamin Henry Latrobe is considered to be the first professionally trained architect in the United States. Latrobe is best known as the architect for the U.S. Capitol building from 1803 to 1811, and from 1815 to 1817. He designed the original House of Representatives wing and was responsible for re-building the Capitol after its destruction by the British during the War of 1812.

Born in Fulneck, Yorkshire, England, on May 1, 1764, Latrobe was descended from Count Henri Boneval who fled France in 1685 and joined the army of William of Orange, settling in Dublin. His descendants migrated to Yorkshire in the eighteenth century. Latrobe was the son of the Reverend Benjamin Latrobe, Bishop of the Moravian Church, and Anna Margaret Antes, an American. After attending Moravian schools and the University of Leipsig, a leading European university, he was employed at age 20 in the London Stamp Office. He studied under John Smeaton, considered to be the first modern civil engineer, and later under the architect Samuel Pepys Cockrell, who employed him from 1789 to 1792. Latrobe married Lydia Sellon, daughter of an Anglican curate, in 1790. Two children were born to this union, Lydia in 1791 and Henry in 1792. In 1793 Lydia Sellon Latrobe died in childbirth with her infant, and Latrobe suffered a nervous breakdown, which led to a financial collapse. Determined to regain his health and financial status, he immigrated to the United States in 1796.

Establishing a business in Virginia, Latrobe designed a number of houses in Richmond, as well as a penitentiary, and made a study of the James and Appomattox Rivers. In 1798 he moved his firm to Philadelphia, where he designed and built the Bank of Pennsylvania, modeled after a Greek Ionic temple, which established his reputation as an architect. While living in Philadelphia he designed and supervised the construction of a steam-powered water supply system for the city. In 1800 Latrobe married Mary Elizabeth Hazlehurst, daughter of prominent businessman Isaac Hazlehurst. To this union five children were born, three living to adulthood: John H. B. (1803-1891), Julia (1804-1890), and Benjamin, Jr. (1806-1878).

In 1803 the Latrobe family, including the two children of the first marriage, moved to Washington, DC, when President Thomas Jefferson appointed Latrobe Surveyor of Public Buildings for the U.S. He took charge of the completion of the Capitol building, which had been mishandled by others who were not professionally trained architects. Although he encountered criticism from those who did not fully understand the principles of architecture, he was recognized as the inventor of a new order of American architecture based on ancient Greek designs. Latrobe is credited with introducing the Corinthian column in the U.S., and was highly praised for his designs of the corncob and tobacco leaf applied to the capital of columns, which can still be seen in parts of the Capitol building.

While working on the Capitol, Latrobe designed several other public buildings-the U.S. Customs House in New Orleans (1809), St. John's Church in Washington, DC (1816), the Baltimore Exchange Building (1818)-as well as many private homes. His finest work is considered to be the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, the first Roman Catholic Cathedral to be built in the U.S. (1805-1818).

Latrobe left his position in Washington in 1811 when funds for the Capitol project dried up. He entered into a 20-year contract with the city of New Orleans to design and build another steam-powered water system. In 1812 he moved to Pittsburgh to construct machinery for this project and while there, entered into business with Robert Fulton building steamboats. This venture was unsuccessful, resulting in bankruptcy for Latrobe. In 1815 Latrobe was re-appointed Surveyor of Public Buildings and returned to Washington to supervise the reconstruction of the Capitol building after the British army had burned it in 1814. The Latrobe family lived in Washington until 1817 when they moved to Baltimore. The eldest son, Henry, was supervising the construction of the New Orleans water supply system when he died of yellow fever in 1817. Latrobe was then forced to travel frequently to that city, assuming the project's responsibilities. He moved there in the spring of 1820, but contracted yellow fever himself and died there on September 3, 1820.