30 Facts About Daniel Burnham

Daniel Hudson Burnham was an American architect and urban designer.

Daniel Burnham was born in Henderson, New York, the son of Elizabeth Keith and Edwin Arnold Daniel Burnham.

Daniel Burnham was raised in the teachings of the Swedenborgian, called The New Church which ingrained in him the strong belief that man should strive to be of service to others.

At the age of eight, Daniel Burnham moved to Chicago and his father established there a wholesale drug business which became a success.

Daniel Burnham was not a good student, but he was good at drawing.

Daniel Burnham moved to the eastern part of the country at the age of 18 to be taught by private tutors in order to pass the admissions examinations for Harvard and Yale, failing both apparently because of a bad case of test anxiety.

Nevertheless, the young Daniel Burnham still had a streak of wanderlust in him, and in 1869 he left his apprenticeship to go to Nevada with friends to try mining gold, at which he failed.

Daniel Burnham then ran for the Nevada state legislature and failed to be elected.

Daniel Burnham failed at the first and quit the second.

Daniel Burnham later remarked on "a family tendency to get tired of doing the same thing for very long".

At age 26, Daniel Burnham moved on to the Chicago offices of Carter, Drake and Wight where he met future business partner John Wellborn Root, who was 21 and four years younger than Daniel Burnham.

Daniel Burnham took steps to ensure their employees were happy: he installed a gym in the office, gave fencing lessons and let employees play handball at lunch time.

Nevertheless, Daniel Burnham's reputation was considerably enhanced by the success and beauty of the fair.

The common perception while Root was alive was that he was the architectural artist and Daniel Burnham had run the business side of the firm; Root's death, while devastating to Daniel Burnham personally, allowed him to develop as an architect in a way it might not have, had Root lived on.

In 1901, Daniel Burnham designed the Flatiron Building in New York City, a trailblazing structure that utilized an internal steel skeleton to provide structural integrity; the exterior masonry walls were not load-bearing.

In 1904, Daniel Burnham accepted a commission from Philippines Governor-General William Howard Taft.

Daniel Burnham had the opportunity to redesign Manila and plan a summer capital to be constructed in Baguio.

Daniel Burnham then departed to keep tabs on the project from the mainland.

Daniel Burnham's plans emphasized improved sanitation, a cohesive aesthetic, and visual reminders of government authority.

Daniel Burnham had previously contributed to plans for cities such as Cleveland, San Francisco, Manila, and Baguio in the Philippines, details of which appear in the 1909 Plan of Chicago publication.

In Washington, DC, Daniel Burnham did much to shape the 1901 McMillan Plan which led to the completion of the overall design of the National Mall.

Daniel Burnham served on the commission until his death in 1912.

Much of Daniel Burnham's work was based on the classical style of Greece and Rome.

Daniel Burnham held many positions during his lifetime, including the presidency of the American Institute of Architects.

Daniel Burnham's father had a house built for the couple to live in.

The Daniel Burnham family lived in Chicago until 1886, when he purchased a 16-room farmhouse and estate on Lake Michigan in the suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

Daniel Burnham had become wary of Chicago which he felt was becoming dirtier and more dangerous as its population increased.

When Daniel Burnham was in his fifties, his health began to decline.

Daniel Burnham developed colitis and in 1909 was diagnosed with diabetes, which affected his circulatory system and led to an infection in his foot which was to continue for the remainder of his life.

Daniel Burnham died only 47 days later from colitis complicated by his diabetes and food poisoning from a meal eaten in Heidelberg.