John Russell Pope

About

Designer of the Jefferson Memorial and the National Archives and Records Administration building in Washington, D.C. The first to be awarded the Rome Prize from the newly established American Academy in Rome.

Before Fame

He entered the medical program at Johns Hopkins University but changed his mind after witnessing a surgical operation. He then became a student of architecture at Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1894.

Trivia

He was known for his designs of civic buildings, including museums and monuments, but he also designed private houses.

Family Life

His father was a well-respected portrait painter in New York.

Associated With

He also designed the American Museum of Natural History's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial in 1936, which was known for its triumphal arch.