Pierre lenfant biography

Noted as one of the most influential architects and city planners in American history, Pierre “Peter” Charles L’Enfant is most famous for designing the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.  Though today he is commonly referred by his French birth name, Pierre, L’Enfant referred to himself as “Peter,” the anglicized version of his name, after coming to America to fight in the Revolutionary War.¹ 

L’Enfant was born August 2, , in Paris to artist Pierre L’Enfant and Marie Charlotte Leullier.

Spending his childhood in Paris, L’Enfant eventually went on to study under his father at the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Scultpure.

In September , L’Enfant, as a Lieutenant of Infantry in the French Colonial Troops, offered his service to the American cause in the Revolutionary War.

He would go on to serve as an Officer in the Army Corp of Engineers under George Washington at Valley Forge and Casimir Pulaski at Savannah. L’Enfant sustained a serious leg injury during th