Oscar Hammerstein II, scion of a notable theatrical family who became its most famous and honored member as a lyricist and librettist, was born July 12, 1895.
Hammerstein enjoyed a major career as lyricist for composer Jerome Kern on many musicals and operettas, most notably Show Boat. After the death of Kern in the early 1940s, Hammerstein launched a second career, and one of the greatest in American musical theatre history, with composer Richard Rodgers. Hammerstein wrote lyrics to classics including Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, among others.
From Show Boat to Sound of Music: 31 Playbills of the Works of Oscar Hammerstein II
