D.W. Griffith (1875-1948) was an American filmmaker, considered the father of cinema. His most famous work was the film “The Birth of a Nation.”
D. W. Griffith was born in La Grange, Oldham County, Kentucky, United States, on January 22, 1875. He began working as a journalist and bookstore clerk.
In 1908, he started making short films, having produced 450 shorts by 1913. He conducted innovative experiments for cinema, such as close-ups, editing, and camera movements that were unusual at the time.
His first feature film was made in 1914, but the great classic 
would come in 1915, with the film “The Birth of a Nation,” about the American Civil War. It was considered the first American film with the longest runtime.
In 1916, he filmed “Intolerance,” where he used four parallel stories.
In the film “Hearts of the World,” he blended fiction and documentary using World War I as the theme.
Griffith had a significant influence on American film directors. Charles Chaplin referred to him as “Great Master.” John Ford and Orson Welles owe him revolutionary methods in film editing and montage.
Griffith was also a theater critic, journalist, and traveling actor.
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith passed away in Hollywood, California, on July 23, 1948, due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
Source: www.ebiografia.com, by Dilva Frazão