# John Root — The Autobiography of an Idea character guide

> John Root in The Autobiography of an Idea by Louis H. Sullivan.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** John Wellborn Root, Root

**First appearance:** 0011-xi-chicago

## Snapshot

Redheaded, witty, vain to the skies, Root is the artist Burnham boasts of — a facile draftsman and musician whose charm Sullivan finds irresistible.

## Who they are

Where Burnham is ponderous and willful, Root is effervescent, debonair, a mind that sparkles, quick to grasp ideas and quicker to appropriate them. He is a man of the world, of the flesh, and considerably of the devil, never taking anything too seriously, his ambition simply to shine and be admired. Burnham, proud of him 'as one man can be of another,' urges Louis to meet him; the friendship that follows will shape Sullivan's sense of what architecture might be.

## Relationships

### [Louis Henri Sullivan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/louis_henri_sullivan)

_friendship_

John Root is a close friend and professional ally, sharing architectural ideals and mutual respect.

### [Louis Henri Sullivan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/louis_henri_sullivan)

_friendship_

John Root is a close friend and professional ally, sharing architectural ideals and mutual respect.

### [Louis Henri Sullivan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/louis_henri_sullivan)

_friendship_

John Root is a close friend and professional ally, sharing architectural ideals and mutual respect.

## In the story

### [Retrospect](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/chapters/retrospect)

Appointed consulting architect for the Fair; dies before the architects' meeting, leaving a void.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters/john_root
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_autobiography_of_an_idea_se/characters