Nathan "Nearest" Green

Nathan "Nearest" Green, incorrectly spelled "Nearis" in an 1880 census, was an African-American head stiller, today more commonly referred to as a master distiller. Born into slavery and emancipated after the American Civil War, he is known for teaching his distilling techniques to Jack Daniel, founder of the Jack Daniel Tennessee whiskey distillery. Green was hired as the first master distiller for Jack Daniel Distillery, and he is the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States.