Daniel Burnham

Daniel Hudson Burnham was an American architect and urban planner who lived from September 4, 1846, to June 1, 1912. He may have been "the most accomplished power broker the American architectural profession has ever produced" and a supporter of the Beaux-Arts movement.

He was chosen to serve as Director of Works at the 1892–1893 World's Columbian Exposition, also known as "The White City," since he was a successful Chicago architect. He played a significant part in the formulation of master plans for the growth of several cities, including the Plan of Chicago, plans for Manila, Baguio, and the heart of Washington, D.C. He also created a number of well-known structures, such as prominent skyscrapers in Chicago, the triangular Flatiron Building in New York City, Union Station in Washington, D.C., the Selfridges department store in London, and the Merchants Exchange in San Francisco.

A Gilded Age architect named Daniel Burnham collaborated with John Wellborn Root to construct the 130-foot-tall Montauk Building in Chicago, which is credited as the first skyscraper. The taller New York City Flatiron Building is where Burnham is best known. He is also recognized for supervising the planning and building of the fantasy fair known in folklore as The White City, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Date of birth: September 4, 1846

Accomplishments: Reliance Building, Flatiron Building, Union Station (Washington, D.C.), Ellicott Square Building