Giuseppe Verdi
Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901
Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt (Harcourt, 1993)
An opera composer from Italy, Verdi was playing the organ for his village by the age of ten. Aida and La Traviata are two of his most famous works.
The Edinboro University of Pennsylvania web site offers an online bio of Verdi as well as a list of his operas.