50 Fun Facts About Marian Anderson

Which famous physicist took Marian Anderson in after a Princeton hotel refused her a room in 1937?

Albert Einstein hosted Anderson at his home on many later visits too, a friendship that lasted until 1955, when she stayed with him months before he died.

What kind of pet was Snoopy, the star of a 1963 album of stories and songs by Marian Anderson?

A cat, and a black one: the album was called Snoopycat, and its short stories and songs followed the adventures of her beloved pet.

Which First Lady quit a patriotic society in 1939 after it refused Marian Anderson its concert hall?

Eleanor Roosevelt resigned by letter, told readers of her newspaper column that staying would imply approval, then skipped the concert so as not to upstage the singer.

On which Christian holiday in 1939 did Marian Anderson sing from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial?

Easter Sunday fell on April 9 that year, and the free open-air recital was carried by radio to millions who could not reach the National Mall.

Which New York company made Marian Anderson the first Black singer on its stage in January 1955?

The Metropolitan Opera audience gave her a standing ovation before she had sung a note; she never appeared there again, but was named a permanent member of the company.

What kind of Navy vessel, named for a famous Black scientist, did Marian Anderson christen in 1965?

A nuclear submarine: the Navy named it for the plant scientist George W. Carver, armed it with Polaris ballistic missiles, and had Anderson sponsor its launch in Virginia.

Which conductor told Marian Anderson in Salzburg that a voice like hers is heard once in a century?

Arturo Toscanini gave his verdict in 1935, while European houses were offering her stage roles, all of which she turned down because she had no acting experience.

Which instrument did young Marian Anderson buy from a pawnshop with nickels earned scrubbing steps?

A violin, bought for about three dollars after she watched a soloist at a concert; she never had a lesson and taught herself tunes, sometimes all on one string.

Which voice type was Marian Anderson, regarded by many listeners as the world's greatest of her day?

Contralto is the lowest female voice, and hers had unusual reach: in her church choir she sang parts written for bass, tenor, alto and soprano.

At which 1963 civil rights rally did Marian Anderson return to sing at the Lincoln Memorial?

The March on Washington had her down to lead the national anthem, but she could not arrive in time, so she sang a spiritual later in the program instead.

In which city was Marian Anderson born in 1897 and a major concert hall renamed for her in 2024?

Philadelphia raised her: her church and the Black community collected the money for her singing lessons, and her house there is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Which lineage society barred Marian Anderson from its auditorium in 1939, then later apologized?

The Daughters of the American Revolution enforced a white-performers-only policy at the time, then reversed it: she sang in the same auditorium at a wartime relief benefit.

Which D.C. venue, once closed to her over race, did Marian Anderson choose to open her farewell tour?

Constitution Hall was her own choice for the tour's first night, 25 years after its white-artists-only rule had sent her to sing outdoors instead.

At which New York venue did Marian Anderson give the last recital of her farewell tour in April 1965?

Carnegie Hall, where she had given her first solo recital in 1928, closed the tour on April 18, 1965; in 1977 it also staged a gala concert for her birthday.

Which US honor, newly revived that year, was awarded to Marian Anderson in 1963?

The Presidential Medal of Freedom went to her in the first group of honorees after its revival, handed over by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Which civil rights group, led by Walter White, gave Marian Anderson its achievement medal in 1939?

The NAACP award was presented in Richmond, Virginia, by the First Lady, the same year the group's leader helped persuade the government to stage her open-air concert.

Which music ceremony gave Marian Anderson a Lifetime Achievement honor two years before her death?

The Grammys honored her in 1991, 26 years after her final recital, in the same year as Bob Dylan and John Lennon.

Marian Anderson and Fred Astaire were in the first class of which annual arts tribute in 1978?

The Kennedy Center Honors began with five honorees, among them the choreographer George Balanchine and the composer Richard Rodgers, at a gala hosted by Leonard Bernstein.

To which world body did President Eisenhower name Marian Anderson a delegate after her tour of Asia?

The United Nations seat formalized her role as a goodwill envoy; a year earlier she had sung the national anthem at President Eisenhower's second inauguration.

On which redesigned banknote did the US Treasury announce in 2016 that Marian Anderson would appear?

The $5 bill was to carry her on its back in a redesign planned for 2020; a postage stamp in the Black Heritage series had honored her in 2005.

At which famous residence did Marian Anderson sing for Britain's visiting king and queen in 1939?

The White House staged a gala evening of American music for the state visit, and her Ave Maria was its climax, despite segregationist criticism of the invitation.

Which composer wrote A Masked Ball, the opera of Marian Anderson's barrier-breaking 1955 debut?

Giuseppe Verdi based it on the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden at a masked ball; Anderson, who had long refused stage roles, played the fortune teller.

Which Nordic composer served champagne after hearing Marian Anderson, then dedicated a song to her?

Jean Sibelius told his wife to bring champagne instead of the usual coffee, and in 1939 he dedicated a new arrangement of his song Solitude to Anderson.

Which spiritual did Marian Anderson sing to audition for teacher Boghetti, moving him to tears?

Deep River won her a place with Boghetti, who gave her a year of free lessons and later booked her a recital at New York's Town Hall.

Which relative persuaded six-year-old Marian Anderson to join the junior choir at her church?

Her aunt Mary, her father's sister, sang duets with her in church and arranged local bookings that paid 25 or 50 cents for a few songs.

With which patriotic song did Marian Anderson open her 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial?

My Country, 'Tis of Thee, also known as America, began a program that ran from classical arias to spirituals and closed with an encore sung through tears.

What was the profession of Orpheus Fisher, who married Marian Anderson after a teenage proposal?

Architect was his trade, and he used it at home, designing an acoustic rehearsal studio for his wife on their farm.

In which state was Marianna Farm, the rural retreat where Marian Anderson lived for almost 50 years?

Connecticut drew her to Danbury, where she turned down celebrity treatment in shops and restaurants and sang at the lighting of the city's Christmas decorations.

Which composer wrote Lincoln Portrait, a work Marian Anderson often narrated after she retired?

Aaron Copland himself conducted her in the piece at Saratoga, and at other concerts the baton was held by her nephew, James DePreist.

Which fur was the full-length coat Marian Anderson wore to sing outdoors on a chilly day in 1939?

Mink kept her warm on a day when the capital's high was 47 degrees, and she wore it open over an embellished jacket and matching skirt.

What did Marian Anderson's father, John, sell for a living at the Reading Terminal in her home city?

Ice and coal were his trade until a head injury at work in 1909; he died soon afterwards, when Marian was 12, and the family moved in with his parents.

Which youth organization did Marian Anderson join as a teenager, gaining a few chances to perform?

Camp Fire Girls membership, like her Baptist youth union, gave her only limited musical openings, so she kept singing in the adult choir at church.

Which orchestra sponsored the 1925 singing contest that gave Marian Anderson her first big break?

The New York Philharmonic gave the winner a concert with the orchestra, and she beat 300 competitors to stand on that outdoor stadium stage.

In which European capital did Marian Anderson study on a fellowship and make her continental debut?

Berlin was paid for by a $1,500 fellowship, offered after two scouts from a Chicago philanthropist's fund heard her sing at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.

In which region did 1930s fans of Marian Anderson come down with a craze known as Marian fever?

Scandinavia took to her first: she met her longtime accompanist there in 1930 and went on to sing before several of the region's monarchs.

In which Pacific Northwest city, home of her conductor nephew, did Marian Anderson die in 1993?

Portland was home to James DePreist, music director of the Oregon Symphony, and she moved in with him in 1992 after decades on her farm.

Which spiritual gave its title to Marian Anderson's bestselling autobiography of the 1950s?

My Lord, What a Morning became a bestseller for Viking, and a one-act musical about her life borrowed the same title in 1999.

Which singer and activist was the first honoree when the Marian Anderson Award was restructured in 1998?

Harry Belafonte opened a list in 1998 that went on to include Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor and Oprah Winfrey, chosen for humanitarian leadership as much as artistry.

Which composer's Ave Maria did Marian Anderson sing at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939?

Schubert's setting closed the classical half of the program, and she sang it again a few months later for a British king at a state gala.

Which future soprano star first heard Marian Anderson on a school trip to Jackson, Mississippi?

Leontyne Price said the recital's dignity had a tremendous effect on her at age nine, and she was in the audience when Anderson made her 1955 stage debut.

Which carmaker's 50th anniversary TV special in 1953 ended with a song from Marian Anderson?

Ford put the show out live on both NBC and CBS, and about 60 million viewers saw her close it with the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Which historically Black school had tried to rent a hall for Marian Anderson's 1939 concert?

Howard University had hosted her annual benefit concerts since 1936, and the crowds had grown so large that only the capital's biggest auditorium would do.

Which telecom company's name was dropped in 2024 when a concert hall became Marian Anderson Hall?

Verizon had bought the naming rights when the venue opened; a $25 million gift from two former board members put Anderson's name over the orchestra's home instead.

Which CBS newsman's television series helped sponsor Marian Anderson's 1957 goodwill tour of Asia?

Edward R. Murrow's See It Now backed the trip alongside the State Department: 35,000 miles and 24 concerts in 12 weeks.

Which impresario managed Marian Anderson from the 1930s and persuaded her to return from Europe?

Sol Hurok also helped persuade the government to offer the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, and Anderson delivered the final eulogy at his funeral in 1974.

Which Cabinet post did Harold Ickes hold when he introduced Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial?

Secretary of the Interior made him the official in charge of the memorial itself, and he told the crowd that genius knows no color line.

Which fortune-teller role did Marian Anderson sing in A Masked Ball for her 1955 opera debut?

Ulrica is first seen mixing a witch's brew, and the audience applauded so long before her first note that Anderson said she felt herself tightening into a knot.

Where was the homeland of Kosti Vehanen, Marian Anderson's pianist at the Lincoln Memorial?

Finland's Vehanen played more than 3,000 concerts on four continents, accompanied Anderson for a decade, and wrote a 1941 memoir about working with her.

Which record label, based in Camden, New Jersey, cut Marian Anderson's first recordings in 1923?

Victor, the Victor Talking Machine Company, recorded her two years before her contest win; her later studio recordings of arias became bestsellers.

Which funk band, famous for party anthems, received the Marian Anderson Award in 2019?

Kool & the Gang took the last award given in the old format; from 2022 the fund paid for a tuition-free young artist program instead.