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John Cage

American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)
Person human Q180727
John Cage
Rob Bogaerts / Anefo · Public Domain · Wikimedia
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Summary

John Cage was born in Los Angeles[1]. He died in New York City[2]. He worked as a composer[3], writer[4], poet[5], university teacher[6], and musicologist[7]. He ranks in the top 0.61% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (12,362 views/month, #6,139 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Place of birth: Good Samaritan Hospital[9], Los Angeles[10]
  • Mother: Crete Cage[11]
  • Spouse: Xenia Cage[12]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[13]
  • Occupation: philosopher[14], painter[15], music theorist[16], illustrator[17], draftsperson[18], mycologist[19], visual artist[20], author[21], graphic artist[22], conceptual artist[23], musician[24], pianist[25]
  • Field of work: music composition[26], experimental music[27], creative and professional writing[28], philosophy[29], audiovisual work[30], mycology[31]
  • Employer: Wesleyan University[32], Black Mountain College[33]
  • Educated at: University of California, Los Angeles[34], Los Angeles High School[35]
  • Award received: Guggenheim Fellowship[36], Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy[37], Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[38], Arts and Letters Award in Music[39], Honorary Member of the International Society for Contemporary Music[40]
  • Member of: American Academy of Arts and Sciences[41], American Academy of Arts and Letters[42], The 8th Street Club[43], New York Mycological Society[44], North American Mycological Association[45], International Society for Contemporary Music[46]
  • Religion or worldview: Zen[47]
  • Sex or gender: male[48]
  • Sexual orientation: non-heterosexuality[49]
  • Movement: Fluxus[50], 20th-century classical music[51]
  • Genre: aleatoric music[52], opera[53], classical music[54], electronic music[55], experimental music[56], musique concrète[57], avant-garde music[58], performance art[59], 20th-century classical music[60]
  • Record label: ECM Records[61]
  • Commons category: John Cage[62]
  • Unmarried partner: Merce Cunningham[63]
  • Archives at: Northwestern University Archives[64], University of California, Santa Cruz[65]

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

  • Type: Person[66]

  • Country: US[67]

  • Began / founded: 1912-09-05[68]

  • Ended / dissolved: 1992-08-12[69]

  • Genre(s): avant-garde, classical, experimental, indeterminacy, modern classical, musique concrète, opera, sound collage, spoken word[70]

  • Community tags: american, avant-garde, chance, classical, composer, experimental, indeterminacy, modern classical, musique concrète, novelty, opera, sound collage, spoken word[71]

  • MusicBrainz ID: 76325a9d-6c25-4649-96b1-84e9b99d6b4b[72]

Why It Matters

John Cage has Wikipedia articles in 29 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[73] He is known by 61 alternative names across languages and contexts.[74]

He has been cited as an influence by Fluxus[75], an art group[76], founded in 1960[77]; Morton Feldman[78], a composer[79], 1926–1987[80], of United States[81], awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship[82]; and Llorenç Barber i Colomer[83], a composer[84], b. 1948[85], of Spain[86], awarded the March scholarship[87], specialised in music[88].

FAQs

Where was John Cage born?

John Cage was born in Los Angeles[1].

Where did John Cage die?

John Cage died in New York City[2].

Who were John Cage's parents?

John Cage's mother was Crete Cage[11].

Who was John Cage married to?

John Cage's spouses include Xenia Cage[12].

What did John Cage do for work?

John Cage worked as a composer[3], writer[4], poet[5], university teacher[6], and musicologist[7].

Where did John Cage go to school?

John Cage was educated at University of California, Los Angeles[34] and Los Angeles High School[35].

What awards did John Cage receive?

Honors received include Guggenheim Fellowship[36], Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy[37], Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[38], and Arts and Letters Award in Music[39].

Who did John Cage influence?

John Cage has been cited as an influence by Fluxus[75], Morton Feldman[78], and Llorenç Barber i Colomer[83].

Related Entities

Arnold Schoenberg Gilette Giungano J. Paul Getty Museum Kunsthaus Zürich Los Angeles Merce Cunningham Morton Feldman Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Museum of Modern Art mycology National Gallery of Art New York City philosophy San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Städel Museum UbuWeb United States University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Santa Cruz Wesleyan University Whitney Museum of American Art ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [1] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  2. [9] ↑ . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved . latimes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  3. [10] ↑ . ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [2] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  5. [48] ↑ . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [11] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [12] ↑ . johncage.org. johncage.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  8. [13] ↑ . Museum of Modern Art online collection. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  9. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [35] ↑ . latimes.com. Retrieved . latimes.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  11. [49] ↑ . news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved . news.bbc.co.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [26] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  13. [27] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [28] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [29] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [30] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [3] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [4] ↑ . RKDartists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  20. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [14] ↑ . The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  24. [15] ↑ . Union List of Artist Names. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  25. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [17] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [18] ↑ . stedelijk.nl. Retrieved . stedelijk.nl. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  28. [19] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  29. [20] ↑ . Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [21] ↑ . RKDartists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [22] ↑ . RKDartists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  32. [23] ↑ . RKDartists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  33. [24] ↑ . RKDartists. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  34. [25] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  35. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [33] ↑ . Union List of Artist Names. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  37. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [55] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [57] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [58] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [59] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [60] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  49. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [37] ↑ . kyotoprize.org. kyotoprize.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  51. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [39] ↑ . artsandletters.org. Retrieved . artsandletters.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  53. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  54. [61] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  55. [62] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  56. [63] ↑ . news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved . news.bbc.co.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  57. [41] ↑ . amacad.org. Retrieved . amacad.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  58. [42] ↑ . artsandletters.org. Retrieved . artsandletters.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  59. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  60. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  61. [45] ↑ . namyco.org. namyco.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  62. [46] ↑ . iscm.org. Retrieved . iscm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  63. [64] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  64. [65] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Product details (FDA / USDA / NHTSA public-domain catalog data)

  1. [66] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  2. [67] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  3. [68] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  4. [69] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  5. [70] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  6. [71] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.
  7. [72] ↑ . MusicBrainz (MetaBrainz Foundation). musicbrainz.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [75] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [78] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [83] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [76] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [77] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [79] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [80] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [81] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [82] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [84] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [85] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [86] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [87] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [88] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [73] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [74] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). John Cage. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-cage
MLA “John Cage.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-cage.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_john-cage_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{John Cage}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-cage}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-11}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): John Cage — https://4ort.xyz/entity/john-cage (retrieved 2026-10-11)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 2d ago · HedgeHog · 2026-10-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Bookbrainz author id → f1a9509c-e20c-4722-8b8a-fa217edc3081
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Bookbrainz author id: f1a9509c-e20c-4722-8b8a-fa217edc3081, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1791629849434"
  2. 2d ago · ~2026-54260-10 · 2026-10-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of birth → Los Angeles, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles
    Pseudonym → Cage, Jr., John Miltone
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Pseudonym: Cage, Jr., John Miltone"
  3. 7d ago · ~2026-53506-78 · 2026-10-05 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Place of birth → Los Angeles, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles
    Sitelink count → 76
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'az', 'be', 'bg', 'bn', 'ca', 'ceb', 'cs', 'cy', 'da', 'de', 'el',
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Place of birth: United States"
  4. 5w ago · Hannolans · 2026-09-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Has works in the collection → Städel Museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Art Institute of Chicago +20
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Has works in the collection: Groninger Museum, groninger museum ([[:toollabs:editgroups/b/OR/c5a6d992c4b|details]])"
  5. 7w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00014576n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151059137
    P14750 → 6423-2022-EEA1-0A48-0D40
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  6. 10w ago · Hannolans · 2026-07-30 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Nederlands film festival person id → john-cage
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/44263|batch #44263]]"
  7. 10w ago · Susmuffin · 2026-07-29 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Harper's tag → john-cage, john-m-cage
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ Harper's tag: john-cage, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/289939261|john cage (#289939261)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7915|Harper's tag]] #mix"
  8. 17w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Local thumb → —
    Occupation → composer, writer, poet +14
    Svkkl authority id → p0043895-Cage-John-19121992
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Svkkl authority id: p0043895-Cage-John-19121992, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259493|batch #259493]]"
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