Louis Kahn

Born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky on the island of Saaremaa, in what is now Estonia. His face was badly scarred at age three when his apron caught fire while he was playing with hot coals. The scars remained his whole life.

Visits the American Academy in Rome at 50. Sees the Pantheon, the Baths of Caracalla. Ancient Roman concrete. Light pouring through oculi. He's been a competent but unremarkable architect for decades. Everything changes. He starts over.

Completes the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. Two rows of brutalist concrete labs face each other across a travertine courtyard that frames the Pacific Ocean. Jonas Salk had asked him to create a place worthy of a visit from Picasso.

Works simultaneously on three monumental projects: the National Assembly in Dhaka, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. He maintains three separate families. None of the women know about each other.

Dies of a heart attack in Penn Station, returning from Bangladesh. His body goes unidentified for days because he'd crossed out the address on his passport. He was $500,000 in debt. The buildings in Dhaka wouldn't be finished until 1982.