Washington District of Columbia
Biographies
Benjamin Henry Latrobe
1764 - 1820
Furnished by : John Sharp
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Benjamin Henry Latrobe born in England, he traveled extensively through England, France, and Germany. He studied engineering at a time when the two disciplines were rapidly achieving professional status. After the death of his first wife, followed by some financial difficulties and the failing economy, he emigrated in 1795-96, to Virginia, and eventually settled in Richmond. In 1798, he moved to the more cosmopolitan locale of Philadelphia, where he designed the city's first water system and was appointed architect for the Bank of Philadelphia. Latrobe and President Jefferson first collaborated when Jefferson sought his expertise to design a dry dock at the Washington Navy Yard. Although Congress never funded the elaborate project, the architectural talents of the young Latrobe did not go unnoticed. In 1803, Jefferson, who was himself well known in the architectural field, appointed Latrobe the country's first Surveyor of Public Buildings, and from that point a long mutual admiration developed. As surveyor, Latrobe was responsible for the continuing design and oversight of construction of all government buildings, including the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The Gate which still bears his name was completed by 1806. Latrobe also helped layout of the various trade shops and promoted the adoption of the latest technology, the steam engine. Writing in 1811 Latrobe observed: ’the Steam engine had been constructed, not only to do the work of the Smiths shop, but to drive the Saw mill, to make blocks and perform much other work.”(Latrobe 1984, vol. 3, 8). Latrobe was keenly aware of the need to have a skilled operator for one of the few steam engines ( see letter of 9 January 1811 from Secretary Hamilton to Commodore Tingey expressing his concern about Samuel Ellis's demand. Latrobe was among the new nation's earliest proponents of steam power. Hamilton finally agreed to raise Ellis wage to $ 2.00 per day and he was allowed an apprentice (Payroll for Blacksmiths employed in the Navy - Yard Washington in the month of July 1811). This pioneering steam powered industrial complex made the new technology possible. The steam engine drove the tilt hammer, blew the Blacksmith's fire and rolled iron plate. The new device also gave the workforce new occupational categories such as Steam Engine Operator. (See Paul Hamilton's letter to Thomas Tingey 9 January 1811.). Paul Hamilton's 9 January 1811 letter to Thomas Tingey reflects the Secretaries puzzlement with the necessity of the new steam technology. By 1822, the Navy Yard would employ four steam engine operators who kept the new engine going around the clock (American State Papers, vol. 2, 848). Latrobe continued to work with Jefferson on a revision of the White House and later helped Dolly Madison on the design and function of the interior spaces. Latrobe's greatest work was his Roman Catholic Cathedral in Baltimore. Benjamin Henry Latrobe died in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1820. |
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