July 3, 1878

Famous for claiming to be born on the 4th of July, George M. Cohan was actually born on July 3, 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island. A theater legend, Cohan was born to parents of Irish Catholic descent who were travelling vaudevillians. From a young age, he and his sister appeared in several of his parents’s shows and sketches and they eventually became known as “The Four Cohans.” The group became extremely popular and Cohan was writing all their material. His most famous songs were “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.”