Clarence Dickinson

Clarence Dickinson (May 7, 1873 in Lafayette, Indiana – August 2, 1969 in New York City) was an American composer and organist. Early life and studies Dickinson grew up in a religious family. His grandfather was minister Baxter Dickinson. His father, the Rev. William Cowper Dickinson, had grown up at Lane Seminary while Baxter Dickinson was codirector with Lyman Beecher; his father's childhood playmates were Lyman's children Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher. He was sixth cousin to poet Emily Dickinson, who corresponded with his father and sister. When Dickinson was born, his father was pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Lafayette. They later moved to Cincinnati, where Dickinson had his first hands-on experience playing the organ, and began studying piano. When his father retired in 1887, the family briefly moved to Pasadena, California. In the fall of 1888 Dickinson enrolled for a year at the preparatory school at Miami University, living in the same room that Benjamin Harrison (who that fall had been elected President) had occupied while he was a student. That year, at age 15, he had his first professional appointment as University Organist.