Historic American Sheet Music Timeline: 1850-1920

The Historic American Sheet Music Timeline features a selection of representative pieces for each decade between 1850 and 1920. Also included is a chronology of major events in politics & government, international affairs, companies, inventions, exploration, humanities, publications, and sports. Select from the list of decades below, or the arrows at the bottom of the pages will guide you through the timeline.

1850-1859
1860-1869
1870-1879
1880-1889
1890-1899
1900-1909
1910-1920

The following reference works contributed to the timeline:

Trager, James, The People's Chronology (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, 1979)

Fischer, Gerald, Time Lines on File (New York: Facts on File, 1988)

Grun, Bernard, The Timetables of History (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975)

Mattfeld, Julius, Variety Music Cavalcade, Third Edition (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971)