When was the White House cornerstone laid?

The cornerstone of the White House was laid on Oct. 13, 1792. The first president of the United States to occupy the White House was John Adams, who moved into the uncompleted structure in 1800.

The White House, originally called the Executive Mansion, was designed by Irish immigrant James Hoban. During the War of 1812, British troops burned the White House to the ground. It was rebuilt using Hoban's design and expanded. President James Monroe was the first U.S. president to occupy the rebuilt White House in 1817. The first president to officially refer to the chief executive's home as the White House was Theodore Roosevelt in 1901.