Trivia

Opera singer who also sang traditional American songs and spirituals.

Famous for her Lincoln Memorial concert in Washington, D.C. on April 9, 1939.

She began her farewell tour with a concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. on October 24, 1964. After six months and 50 concerts in the United States and Canada, she gave her final performance at Carnegie Hall on April 18, 1965.

In 1939, the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) refused to give Ms. Anderson permission to sing a concert at their headquarters. When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a member of the organization, heard of this, she resigned in protest, and Marian Anderson was finally allowed to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where she gave an electrifying performance of Schubert's "Ave Maria", among other arias and songs.

Pictured on a USA 37¢ commemorative postage stamp in the Black Heritage series, issued 27 January 2005.

She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. (1986).

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 3, 1991-1993, pages 19-22. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (2001).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

On April 14, 2011, Marian Anderson's house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; she resided there from 1924 - 1943.

Encyclopedias and biographies made during her lifetime, incorrectly report her birth year as 1902. Although her family declared 1897 as the correct date in her obituary when she died in 1993, the 1902 notion still occasionally finds its way into print.

Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame (charter member) (1973) and the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (1994).

Received honorary degrees from Howard University, Temple University and Smith College.

Following her death, she was interred at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.

Aunt of conductor James DePreist.