Patty Smith Hill

Patty Smith Hill (March 27, 1868 – May 25, 1946) was an American 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).

Patty Smith Hill was born in 1868 in Anchorage, Kentucky, just outside Louisville. Her parents were passionate people who instilled in Patty and her siblings the importance of education, the value of play, and the necessity of advocating for others. Her father, William Wallace Hill, was born in Bath, Kentucky, graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky in 1833, and earned a doctorate of Theology from Princeton University in 1838. He dedicated his entire life to ministry and education, which took the Hill family from Kentucky to Missouri to Texas. Her mother, Martha Jane Smith, was William's second wife (his first died in childbirth), and was born in Pennsylvania, but as an adolescent moved with her brother to live with their aunt and uncle on their plantation in Danville. Martha Jane was intent on learning and passing along education to others, evidenced, for example, by the fact that she taught the slaves on the Grimes plantation to read and write.

Hill's parents were committed to their children's education; her father is reported to have told his daughters to understand the value of a good education, and that it was, "a tragedy for women to marry for a home. Don't live with law kin! Don't even if you have to live in a hollow tree!" Empowered by her parents' encouragement, Patty graduated valedictorian of her class from the Louisville Collegiate Institute in 1887.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 27, 1868 (Anchorage), Died May 25, 1946 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1919 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: other, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor PR-416 10-in. before 9/11/1947 Happy birthday Eddie Gómez ; Orquesta Miguelito Miranda Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble songwriter  
Columbia 90079 10-in. approximately 1919 Minuet in G : Excerpt Columbia Miniature Orchestra Orchestra other  
Columbia 90091 10-in. February 1920 Berceuse Columbia Miniature Orchestra Orchestra other  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hill, Patty Smith," accessed November 4, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105952.

Hill, Patty Smith. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 4, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105952.

"Hill, Patty Smith." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105952

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