Edwin S. Porter

Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 250 films created by Porter, his most important include Jack and the Beanstalk , Life of an American Fireman , The Great Train Robbery , The Kleptomaniac , Life of a Cowboy , Rescued from an Eagles Nest , and The Prisoner of Zenda .

Porter was born and raised in Connellsville, Pennsylvania to Thomas Richard Porter, a merchant, and Mary Porter he was the fourth of seven children with four brothers and two sisters . Named Edward at birth, he later changed his name to Edwin Stanton, after the Democratic politician from Ohio who had served as Abraham Lincolns Secretary of War. After attending public schools in Connellsville, Porter worked, among other odd jobs, as an exhibition skater, a sign painter, and a telegraph operator. He developed an interest in electricity at a young age, and shared a patent at agefor a lamp regulator. Eventually becoming a merchant tailor, Porter was battered by the 1893 financial panic. He filed for bankruptcy on Juneand enlisted in the United States Navy four days later on June 19.

Source: Wikipedia