Commodore Matthew Cabraith Perry, 1794-1858, was a career naval officer and the younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry. He commanded the American naval forces in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz during the Mexican War. He was also a strong proponent of naval education and training programs and a technological innovator who was sometimes referred to as “The Father of the American Steam Navy”. Perry is most noted for his 1853-1854 mission to Japan which opened that feudal nation to Western influences and served as a catalyst for its’ modernization.