Famous as “The March King,” John Philip Sousa was best known as the composer of popular military and patriotic marches including “Semper Fidelis” and “The Washington Post March.” He was also director of the U.S. Marine Band and the inventor of the sousaphone.
Sousa was also the author of three novels and an autobiography. His novels are The Fifth String (1902) a best seller, Pipetown Sandy (1905), which is set in the DC neighborhood where he grew up, and The Transit of Venus (1920). His autobiography, Marching Along (1928), became the basis for the 1952 Hollywood movie starring Clifton Webb and Robert Wagner, Stars and Stripes Forever.
This is the house where Sousa was born. Sousa lived for much of his life in DC, and is buried in Congressional Cemetery.
The Homes
636 G St SE, Washington, DC
John Philip Sousa
636 G St SE, Washington, DC
Located in Capitol Hill neighborhood, Southeast