Tchaikovsky (song) Stanisław Moniuszko, Witold Maliszewski and Leopold Godowsky are actually Polish, not Russian, but all three were born in what was then part of the Russian Empire. Ira Gershwin began his career writing lyrics for his brother George Gershwin. Ira, the more self-effacing of the Gershwin brothers, was concerned that music publishers might think that George had chosen him as lyricist on the basis of nepotism rather than talent, so Ira originally chose to write lyrics under the pseudonym "Arthur Francis" (derived from the names of his other brother Arthur and his sister Frances). The song was originally a nonsense poem
Ira W. Claflin Carpenter<br> Lieut. Nicholas Nolan, Captain Ira W. Claflin Commanding Ira W. Claflin Ira Wallace Claflin (June 21, 1834 – November 18, 1867) was a United States Army West Point regular officer who took command of the 6th US Cavalry during the critical days of July 1863 during the Gettysburg Campaign. He was an instructor of Union cavalry tactics for West Virginia and later taught at West Point. Ira Wallace Claflin was the eldest son, of eight children, of Ira Claflin, Sr (1808–1891) and Hannah Wells Richardson (1814–1907), born in Rochester, Windsor County, Vermont. Ira W. married Jane Cooper Stuck on