Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1854 November 6 | Born the third of ten children at 636 G Street SE in Washington, D.C., to Maria Elisabetha Trinkaus Sousa (1826-1908) and John Antonio Sousa (1824-1892), a trombone player in the United States Marine Band |
| 1860-1867 | Studied several instruments, including piano and violin, while enrolled at a conservatory operated by John Esputa Jr. |
| 1868-1875 | Enlisted as an apprentice musician in the United States Marine Band Played violin with local theater and chamber orchestras Studied composition and theory with George Felix Benkert |
| 1876-1880 | Lived in Philadelphia Worked as a performer, conductor, composer, and arranger |
| 1879 December 30 | Married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (died 1944) |
| 1880-1892 | Served as the 17th leader of the U.S. Marine Band |
| 1881 April 1 | Son John Philip Sousa Jr. born (died 1937) |
| 1882 August 7 | Daughter Jane Priscilla Sousa born (died 1958) |
| circa 1882 | His first published operetta The Smugglers appeared |
| 1887 January 21 | Daughter Helen P. Sousa born (died 1975) |
| 1888 | Composed "Semper Fidelis," traditionally known as the official march of the Marine Corps |
| 1891 | President Benjamin Harrison gave Sousa permission to take the Marine Band on its first tour |
| 1892 | Resigned as director of the Marine Band and formed the Sousa Band |
| 1892-1931 | The Sousa Band toured the U.S., Europe, Great Britain, the Canary Islands, and in the South Pacific |
| 1895 | Published his operetta El Capitan |
| 1896 | Composed "The Stars and Stripes Forever" march |
| 1901 | Received the Royal Victorian Medal from King Edward VII Received the Order of Academic Palms from the French Republic |
| 1914 | Charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) |
| 1917-1919 | Commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve Served as music director at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois |
| 1923 | Received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 1924-1932 | Vice president of ASCAP |
| 1927-1928 | Testified before Congress on behalf of composers' rights |
| 1932 March 6 | Died at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania, after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band |
| 1970 | Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame |
| 1987 | "The Stars and Stripes Forever" designated as the U.S. official national march by an act of Congress |