Mildred J. Hill
Encyclopedia
Mildred J. Hill was an American songwriter and musicologist, who composed the melody for "Good Morning to All", later used as the melody for "Happy Birthday to You
".
, was the oldest of three sisters, Mildred, Patty, and Jessica. She learned music
from her father, Calvin Cody, and Adolph Weidig.
Mildred Hill was a kindergarten
and Sunday-school teacher
, like her younger sister Patty
. She moved into music, teaching, composing, performing, and specializing in the study of Negro spirituals. Hill and her sister were honored at the Chicago World's Fair
for their work in the progressive education program at the experimental kindergarten, the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School.
She wrote about music using the pen name
Johann Tonsor.
Hill died in Chicago, Illinois, in 1916. She is buried with her sister in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
the lyrics. The song was first published in 1893 in Song Stories for the Kindergarten as a greeting song for teachers to sing to their students.
"Happy Birthday to You
" first appeared in print in 1912 using the melody of "Good Morning to All" with different lyrics. Its popularity continued to grow through the 1930's, with no author identified for the new lyrics, nor credit given for the melody from "Good Morning to You". Based on 1935 copyright registrations by the Summy Company, and a series of court cases (which all settled out of court), the sisters became known as the authors of "Happy Birthday to You". The Hill Foundation today shares royalties on public performances of the song.
Hill and her sister were posthumously inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 12, 1996.
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
".
Biography
Mildred J. Hill, born in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, was the oldest of three sisters, Mildred, Patty, and Jessica. She learned music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
from her father, Calvin Cody, and Adolph Weidig.
Mildred Hill was a kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
and Sunday-school teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, like her younger sister Patty
Patty Hill
Patty Smith Hill is perhaps best known for co-writing the tune which became popular as Happy Birthday to You. She was an American nursery school, kindergarten teacher, and key founder of the National Association Nursery Education which now exists as the National Association For the Education of...
. She moved into music, teaching, composing, performing, and specializing in the study of Negro spirituals. Hill and her sister were honored at the Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
for their work in the progressive education program at the experimental kindergarten, the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School.
She wrote about music using the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Johann Tonsor.
Hill died in Chicago, Illinois, in 1916. She is buried with her sister in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Happy Birthday
While teaching at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School, the Hill sisters wrote the song "Good Morning to All"; Mildred wrote the melody, and PattyPatty Hill
Patty Smith Hill is perhaps best known for co-writing the tune which became popular as Happy Birthday to You. She was an American nursery school, kindergarten teacher, and key founder of the National Association Nursery Education which now exists as the National Association For the Education of...
the lyrics. The song was first published in 1893 in Song Stories for the Kindergarten as a greeting song for teachers to sing to their students.
"Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" first appeared in print in 1912 using the melody of "Good Morning to All" with different lyrics. Its popularity continued to grow through the 1930's, with no author identified for the new lyrics, nor credit given for the melody from "Good Morning to You". Based on 1935 copyright registrations by the Summy Company, and a series of court cases (which all settled out of court), the sisters became known as the authors of "Happy Birthday to You". The Hill Foundation today shares royalties on public performances of the song.
Hill and her sister were posthumously inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame on June 12, 1996.
See also
- Kenwood HillKenwood HillKenwood Hill is a neighborhood on the south side of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Its boundaries are New Cut Road, Kenwood Drive, Southside Drive and Palatka Road. The hill, earlier known as Sunshine Hill and then Cox's Knob, was used by Native Americans to spot buffalo. By 1868 Benoni Figg owned the...
— Louisville neighborhood Patty Hill lived in - List of famous Louisvillians