Date of Birth: 1573
Date of Death: 1652
Nationality: English
Notes: One of the most important British architects of the last three centuries, Jones was the first significant British architect of the early modern period and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. Most famous for introducing the classical Palladian style of architecture into England during the reign of James I (Jones was entranced by Palladio and bought a large number of his drawings), Jones began his career in the theater, where was responsible for staging over 500 performances. He frequently collaborated with Ben Jonson and is credited with introducing movable scenery and the proscenium arch to English theater. He also achieved fame in his pre-architecture life a designer of lavish masques for the Court, for which he is still remembered today. Jones was born in London of Welsh parents (his father was a cloth worker) and trained as a carpenter. Undeniably a man of genius, he was probably the greatest British architect of the 17th century (he was described by a contemporary as "our Kingdome's most Artfull and Ingenious Architect"). Jones was Surveyor-General of the King's Works from 1615 until the beginning of the Civil War in 1642, during which he worked continuously on the royal residences. When the Civil War erupted Jones found himself in a compromising position; he was identified with the Court, most specifically with the Catholic Queen, Henrietta Maria, for whom he performed much work. In the new world dominated by Oliver Cromwell, this was seen as unpatriotic or treasonous; the Parliamentarians seized his property and fined him heavily. He never recovered from the Civil War and, in 1652, he died at Somerset House, a broken and poverty-stricken man.