Happy birthday, Adolphe Sax!

Today marks the 201st anniversary of the birth of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. In honor of his birthday, here are some fun facts about him.

1. Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone when he was 32 years old.
2. He invented more than just the saxophone, but that was the instrument that caught on the best.
3. He was from Belgium.
4. He was an expert at the flute and clarinet, studying performance on those two instruments (as well as voice) at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. (If you join band on one of these woodwind instruments, you'll notice that the fingering system for flute, clarinet, oboe, and saxophone are very similar. They're also similar to recorder!)
5. He survived many near-death experiences in childhood.
6. He improved someone else's design of the bass clarinet.
7. In 1857, he got a teaching job at the Paris Conservatoire.

If you haven't been to Google today, check out their Adolphe Sax doodle!

For more cool things in the saxophone family, check out the following video:

DRUM CARD OPPORTUNITY: Email me the coolest thing you saw in the saxophone video above.