Architect. James Hoban, an Irish-born American, is credited with being the architect, who designed the White House, the official home and workplace of the President of the United States. Born in a Roman Catholic household of a tenant farmer on the estate of the Earl of Desart in Ireland, he began his profession as a carpenter as a young adult. When his talent was recognized, he was given a place in the Dublin Society's Drawing School, receiving the Duke of Leinster's medal for his 1780 drawings "Brackets, Stairs, and Roofs." From 1779 until 1785, he was an apprentice to Thomas Ivory, a well-respected English architect and builder. Arriving to Philadelphia from Ireland in 1785, he traveled to South Carolina where he first met George Washington, who was an admirer of his talents. He had built several buildings in South Carolina including the Charleston County Courthouse, the William Seabrook House, and the original state capitol building at Columbia, which was burnt at the orders of General William T. Sherman on February 17, 1865. Washington summoned him back to Philadelphia, the city acting as the nation's capital from 1790 to 1800, to compete for the commission of the new nation's presidential house and capitol building. He proposed a grand design of English Georgian style, which was chosen in July of 1792, only after following a suggestion from Washington to decrease the scale of the original mansion. The cornerstone was laid in 1793, and work continued until 1801. During the War of 1812, the White House was burnt by the British in 1814. He was summoned by then United States President James Monroe to rebuild the South Portico and add in 1829 the North Portico. Using the design of Dr. William Thornton, Hoban assisted the commissioners with the development of the Capitol from the cornerstone laying on September 18, 1793 and then directed the work from 1798 until 1802. He designed the Grand Hotel and the Little Hotel, which both were finished by 1795 and his last federal commission, the State and War Offices building, which was finished in 1818. Except for the White House and the Capitol building, only a few buildings of his remain. Many were lost through the years to fire or demolished for new construction. The stately Oak Hill, the retirement residence of President Monroe, still stands in Loudoun County, Virginia and is a private residence. After the District of Columbia was established in 1802, he served on the twelve-member city council for most of the remainder of his life, except during the years he was rebuilding the White House. Although not a political-minded gentleman, he was the founder of Grand Lodge Number One of the Masonic Order, captain of a local militia company, and a successful real estate developer. He initiated a private fund to employ schoolteachers, raise a volunteer fire brigade, and assist Irish construction workers in need. He signed a petition calling for the radical abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, however his will stipulated that his slaves were to be sold within the District of Columbia to prevent separation, which would be done by their relocation to distant plantations. His estate was valued to be over a million and a half dollars in today's 21st century economy. After his first wife died in Charleston, he married Susanna "Susan" Sewall and the couple had ten children. Of the ten, three of his children died before adulthood, one son became a Roman Catholic priest and two became naval officers. His son, James Hoban, Jr. served as a District Attorney of the District of Columbia. After his 1831 death, his remains were originally interred in the Holmead's Burying Ground, near DuPont Circle. In 1874, the cemetery closed and his remains were re-interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery. On March 17, 2021, St. Patrick's Day, his grave, which was neglected and almost lost in obscurity, was rescued jointly by several organizations including the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, the Ambassador from Ireland, the White House Historical Association, and others. Besides restoring his original marker, a commemorative plaque was placed.