Robert Cornelius (March 1, 1809 – August 10, 1893)
was a photographer and pioneer in the history of
photography.

He designed the photographic plate for the first
photograph taken in the United States, an image
of Central High School taken by Joseph Saxton in
1839.

His self image taken in 1839 is the first known
photographic portrait of a person taken in the
United States. He operated two of the earliest
photography studios in the United States
between 1841 and 1843 and implemented
innovative techniques to significantly reduce
the exposure time required for portraits.