Pierre Charles L’Enfant

Pierre Charles L’Enfant, born in Paris, France, on August 2, 1755, was an engineer, artist, and Revolutionary soldier from 1775 to 1783 who served under George Washington, became a major in the US Engineer Corps in 1782, and was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati, for which he designed the certificate and insignia. He designed the plan for the Federal City and envisioned the nation’s capital as a living and permanent symbol of the United States, responsive to the aspirations of a nation looking to the future. His public contributions in the United States included designing the insignia of the Society of the Cincinnati in 1787, designing a pavilion for the celebration of the Federal Procession in New York City in 1788, remodeling New York City Hall into Federal Hall for use by the first Federal Congress in 1788-89, and designing the City of Washington in 1791-92. He died on June 14, 1825, while residing at Chilham Castle Manor in Prince George's County, Maryland, was interred there, and was reinterred at Arlington on April 28, 1909.

Arlington, Virginia · United States