Hugh Newell Jacobsen

Hugh Newell Jacobsen (March 11, 1929 – March 4, 2021) was an American architect. He was noted for designing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' home in Martha's Vineyard during the 1980s. He also restored part of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, as well as Spaso House in Moscow.

Early life Jacobsen was born on March 11, 1929, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Lucy Ellen (Newell) and John Edwall Jacobsen. His father was initially employed as a meat importer and later worked for the War Shipping Administration during World War II. Consequently, the Jacobsen family moved to Washington, D.C., and he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947. Jacobsen went on to study fine arts at the University of Maryland, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1951. Although he originally intended to become a portrait painter, his father advised him to go into architecture for its job security. Subsequently, he undertook postgraduate studies at Yale University, earning a Master of Architecture in 1955.

After completing his formal education, Jacobsen briefly worked in New Canaan, Connecticut, apprenticing to Philip Johnson in 1955. Subsequently, he worked for Keyes, Lethbridge & Condon in Washington, D.C., from 1957 to 1958,

Jacobsen designed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' home in Martha's Vineyard, which was completed in 1981. He was one of a small number of architects chosen in 1998 to participate in designed the Dream House series. He ended up selling over 900,000 plans, and the houses built from them were constructed in countries such as Argentina, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.