William Shakespeare Hays, Date of Birth, Date of Death

William Shakespeare Hays

American writer

Date of Birth: 19-Jul-1837

Date of Death: 23-Jul-1907

Profession: poet, songwriter, lyricist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

William Shakespeare Hays (July 19, 1837 – July 23, 1907), was an American poet and lyricist.
He wrote some 350 songs over his career and sold as many as 20 million copies of his works.
These pieces varied in tone from low comedy to sentimental and pious; his material was sometimes confused with that of Stephen Foster as a result.
In his later years, Hays put forth one of the more plausible claims to authorship of the song "Dixie".
In the end, however, no evidence could be produced to back up his pretensions.