Frederick W. von Egloffstein

Frederick Wilhelm von Egloffstein was a German-American artist and innovator. Known as the "Father of Halftone Engraving," Egloffstein was the first person to utilize ruled glass screens and photography to create engravings. 

Born in Bavaria, Egloffstein served in the Prussian army before immigrating to the United States in 1846, where he initially took up work as a land surveyor for town and county mapmakers. During the 1850s, he worked as a surveyor, topographical mapmaker and panorama artist for various western expedition groups, including those funded by the U.S. government, such as the United States Pacific Railroad Expedition (U.S.P.R.R.), which was scouting for good railroad routes, and a survey of the Grand Canyon which resulted in the "Report Upon the Colorado River of the West."

Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Egloffstein moved to New York and helped organize the 103rd New York Volunteer Infantry, to which he served as colonel. His American military career was cut short, however, when he was gravely wounded 1862. He continued to work as a map maker for several years before returning to Germany, where he is believed to have died from an infection related to his war injuries in 1885.