Samuel B. Morse (b. 1791, d. 1872)


Samuel B. Morse was the first man to introduce the Daguerreotype to the United States after meeting Daguerre and witnessing what he called "one of the most beautiful discoveries of the age". After his meeting with Daguerre, he promptly wrote to the New York Observer to let them know of this new invention which was gaining vast popularity in Europe but not yet in the United States. Morse soon discovered that his brand of American photography was not as profitable as he'd hoped and later moved on to other ventures. He did however expose the art to Mathew Brady, one of the greatest photographers of the 19th century.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sfbmhtml/sfbmlesseressay.html