born Nov. 24, 1859, Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
died May 17, 1934, Brockenhurst, Hampshire, Eng.
U.S. architect.
He briefly attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then worked briefly for the firm of McKim, Mead & White. For some years his 60-story Woolworth Building (191013) in New York City, with its Gothic detail in terra-cotta over a steel frame, was regarded as a model of tall commercial building design (it was for years the tallest building in the world). Other works include the U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. (completed 1935), and the campuses of the universities of Minnesota and Texas. Though not highly original, Gilbert was an acknowledged leader of his profession in the U.S. during a period in which monumental architecture predominated.