Nathaniel Clark Smith, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Nathaniel Clark Smith

American composer

Date of Birth: 31-Jul-1877

Place of Birth: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States

Date of Death: 08-Oct-1935

Profession: composer, conductor, bandleader, jazz musician, music pedagogue

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Nathaniel Clark Smith (often Major N.
Clark Smith; July 31, 1877 – October 8, 1935) was an important African-American musician, composer, and music educator in the United States during the early decades of the 1900s.
Born on the Army base at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Smith began his music education very early organizing bands in Wichita starting in 1893.
His strict military style leadership led to prominence and over the next 30 years he would lead bands in Chicago, Wichita, Kansas City, the Tuskegee Institute, and in St.
Louis.
He was an important educator for many of the prominent early Jazz musicians from Kansas City, Chicago, and St.
Louis.
He died in 1935 as the result of a stroke.
Many primary documents about Smith's life have been lost as a result of a fire that destroyed most of his personal documents.