George Gershwin, a Jewish-American composer from Brooklyn, New York, was born on September 26, 1898. George's family resided in Brooklyn, specifically in the vibrant neighborhoods of the Yiddish Theater District and Harlem. He sold his first song at 17 to support his family. "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Of Thee I Sing" were some of his successful works. He died July 11, 1937, at 38 due to a brain tumor in Los Angeles, California. He is buried in Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.