Patty Hill (March 27, 1868 – May 25, 1946) was a composer and teacher who is perhaps best known for co-writing, with her sister Mildred Hill, the tune which later became popular as “Happy Birthday to You”. She was an American nursery school, kindergarten teacher, and key founder of the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE) which now exists as the National Association For the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (More from Wikipedia)
That bit of doggerel is something that nearly everyone hears at least once a year. This song too has songwriting credits. As explained by Wikipedia: “The melody of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ comes from the song ‘Good Morning to All’, which has been attributed to American siblings Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893, although the claim that the sisters composed the tune is disputed. Patty was a kindergarten principal in Louisville, Kentucky, developing various teaching methods at what is now the Little Loomhouse; Mildred was a pianist and composer. The sisters used ‘Good Morning to All’ as a song that young children would find easy to sing. The combination of melody and lyrics in ‘Happy Birthday to You’ first appeared in print in 1912, and probably existed even earlier.”
(April 2015/1)
