Daniel Hudson Burnham

Born in 1846, Daniel Hudson Burnham became one of the most influential American architects and urban planners of his era. He built his career in Chicago and, with his partner John Wellborn Root, helped define the look of the fast-growing modern city in the late nineteenth century.

He is especially remembered for directing the design and construction of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, a project that made him nationally famous. Burnham also played a major role in early skyscraper architecture and worked on landmark buildings including New York's Flatiron Building and Washington, D.C.'s Union Station.

Later in life, he became a leading voice in city planning. His 1909 Plan of Chicago became one of the best-known planning documents in American history and is closely tied to his lasting reputation as a champion of bold civic design.