Bulfinch, Charles

(born Aug. 8, 1763, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony—died April 4, 1844, Boston, Mass., U.S.) First professional U.S. architect. He studied at Harvard University and then toured Europe, visiting major architectural sites in France and Italy. Most of his works incorporate Classical orders and show a mastery of proportion. Chiefly a designer of government buildings, he served as architect of the U.S. Capitol in 1817–30. He used the plans of his immediate predecessor, Benjamin H. Latrobe, for the wings but prepared a new design for the rotunda. His son Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867) wrote the famous Bulfinch's Mythology.

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