Profile of the Day: Adolphe Sax

On this day in 1814, Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, was born in Dinant, in what is today Belgium.

Image: Adolphe Sax / Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Wikimedia Commons

Sax was born Antoine-Joseph Sax to Marie-Joseph Masson and Charles-Joseph Sax, a maker of wind and brass instruments. As a young child, Sax faced many near-death experiences. He was struck in the head by a brick, swallowed a needle, fell onto a burning stove, survived a fall from three flights up, accidentally drank some sulfuric acid, and survived a fall into a river.

He learned to make his own instruments at an early age, even entering his instruments into a competition. He made improvements to existing instruments, but was best remembered for his invention of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument with a brass body. In 1846, he received a patent for the saxophone, which he intended to be used in both orchestras and military bands. Despite the success of his invention, Sax was embroiled in lawsuits from competing designers and died in poverty.

Does anyone in your family play the saxophone?

Explore Adolphe Sax’s family tree and share how you’re related to the inventor.