John Philip Sousa – 1854-1932

The son of Portuguese and German immigrants, Sousa enlisted in the U.S. Marines as an apprentice in the Marine Band and by 1880 was bandmaster. He left the Corps in 1892 to form his own band and became the most famous and sought-after bandleader in the world. Sousa composed 136 military marches, including “Semper Fidelis” (1888), which became the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps, “The Washington Post” (1889), “The Liberty Bell” (1893), and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897).