Maya Lin is an American designer, artist, and architect best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. She was born in Athens, Ohio in 1959 and graduated from Yale University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture. Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was chosen from 1, 421 submissions in a national competition. Her design consists of two black granite walls inscribed with the names of the 58, 000 Americans who died in the Vietnam War. The memorial has become one of the most visited sites in Washington, D.C. and has been recognized as one of the most influential memorials of the 20th century.