John Latendresse
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John Latendresse (July 26, 1925 – July 23, 2000) is known for being the "father of American cultured freshwater pearls". He was the first successful North American freshwater cultured pearl farmer and was voted one of the pearl industry's most important people of the century. Latendresse established the first experimental U.S. freshwater cultured pearl farm in Tennessee in 1963 and it became the foundation of the U.S. freshwater cultured pearl industry. The Tennessee River Pearl Farm has since been featured in a variety of national publications and television broadcasts including National Geographic.
