GRIFFITH, D(AVID) W(ARK)

born Jan. 22, 1875, Floydsfork, Ky., U.S. died July 23, 1948, Hollywood pioneer U.S. motion-picture director, credited with developing many of the basic techniques of filmmaking, in such films as The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), Orphans of the Storm (1921), and The Struggle (1931).