Thornton Wilder was born on April 17, 1897 to a highly educated and accomplished family. His father was a newspaper owner and editor and was a powerful public speaker. His mother was well-educated, cultured, and a successful poet. Both parents introduced a love of the classics and intellectual curiosity in all their children. Wilder was a talented musician, studying piano, organ and violin. He sang in choral groups and church choirs, and over the course of his lifetime, he read musical scores as an avocation. Thornton had done some traveling with his family which gave him insight to what other cultures were like and a new view of beliefs without changing his own. Though he had become enthused with theater and writing in high school, from the