Author Name

I can really use some assistance in adding the author name of the post to the bottom of the page .. This is the index.php for the theme. Everything I have tried has blown up the site, causing me to reload the index.php

<div class=”post” id=”post-<?php the_ID(); ?>”>
<div class=”postinfo”>
<small> <!– by <?php the_author() ?> –></small>
<h2>“></h2>
</div>

<div class=”entry”>

</div>

<p class=”postmetadata”>Posted in | </p>
</div>

<div class=”navigation”>
<div class=”alignleft”></div>
<div class=”alignright”></div>
<br>
</div>

<h2>Not Found</h2>
<p>Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn’t here.</p>