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Benjamin Henry Latrobe
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May 16, 2024 · William Thornton was a British-born American architect, inventor, and public official, best known as the creator of the original design for the Capitol at Washington, D.C. Thornton studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh (1781–84) and received his M.D. from the University of Aberdeen.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was an American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the United States Patent Office .
Dr. William Thornton was an amateur architect who is honored as the "first architect" because his design for the U.S. Capitol was accepted by President George Washington in 1793. He received $500 and a building lot in the city of Washington for his composition.
In the torrid summer of 1792, William Thornton, the 33-year-old son of wealthy planters on the Caribbean island of Tortola, labored over a set of architectural drawings. Thornton, who had been...
Dr. William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was an early American inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the United States Patent Office.
In 1793, President George Washington selected physician, painter and architect Dr. William Thornton ’s design for the U.S. Capitol building.
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- Gordon Brown
In its present state the United States Capitol exhibits four distinct architectural minds at work, those of its original designer, William Thornton; Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect responsible for erecting the major portion of the first building; Charles Bulfinch, responsible for redesigning and carrying out the central section including ...
