5 April 23

On 5 April 1793, George Washington and Congress accepted William Thonton's architectural plan for the U. S. Capitol building. Thornton was Scottish-trained physician living in Tortola, British West Indies. Construction began that same year, and the first wing--housing the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Library of Congress--was completed in 1800. The building we see today was completed by 1891.