Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Eichberg, Julius

EICHBERG, Julius, musician, b. in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1824; d. in Boston, Mass., 19 Jan., 1893. He entered the conservatory at Brussels as a pupil of De Beriot, and studied composition under Fetis. He was afterward professor of the violin at the conservatory of Geneva. Being advised to take a sea-voyage for his health he came to the United States, and settled in Boston, Mass. While director of the Boston museum, from 1859 till 1866, he became known as the first composer of English-American operas. “The Doctor of Alcantara” was written in 1862, followed by “The Rose of Tyrol,” “A Night in Rome,” and “The Two Cadis.” In 1867 he became director of the Boston conservatory of music, and in the same year was elected superintendent of music in the public schools of Boston, which position he long held.