June 27, 1859:
"Happy Birthday To You," , arguably one of the most sung songs there is, was composed by Mildred J. Hill, a
schoolteacher born in Louisville, KY. Her younger sister,
Patty Smith Hill, was the author of the lyrics, which were first
published in 1893 as "Good Morning to All," a classroom greeting
published in the book Song Stories for the Sunday School. The lyrics were amended in 1924 to include a stanza beginning "Happy Birthday to You."
Now it is sung somewhere in the world every minute of the day.
Although the authors are believed to have earned very little from the
song, reportedly it later generated about $1 million a year for its
copyright owner. The song is expected to enter public domain upon
expiration of the copyright in 2010. Mildred Hill died in Chicago, IL,
on June 5, 1916, without knowing that her melody would become the
world's most popular song.
(my coach, John Sanpietro brought this little tidbit to my attention and I found the facts above courtesy of J. Boo; thanks for sharing guys!)
