Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Pianist
Classical pianist who performed thousands of concerts throughout North America and Europe during his career.
He was immediately seen as a child prodigy in his hometown of New Orleans, publicly debuting at the St. Charles Hotel in 1840. He moved to Europe at age 13 to study classical piano.
He passed away in Brazil after contracting malaria and then collapsing at one of his performances.
He was born in New Orleans to a London-born Jewish businessman and a mother from Creole and grew up with six siblings.
He was rejected from the Paris Conservatoire by Charles Gounod 's mentor, Pierre Zimmerman.