Harry Thacker Burleigh
Born: 2nd December 1866, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
Died: 12th September 1949, New York City, NY, USA
Nationality: American
Henry Thacker ("Harry") Burleigh was an American classical composer, arranger, and professional singer known for his baritone voice. The first black composer instrumental in developing characteristically American music, Burleigh made black music available to classically trained artists both by introducing them to spirituals and by arranging spirituals in a more classical form. Burleigh also introduced Antonín Dvořák to Black American music, which influenced some of Dvořák's most famous compositions and led him to say that Black music would be the basis of an American classical music.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Burleigh