Born the son of a plantation owner and his Senegalese-born slave, St Georges gained fame in France, and was called “the most accomplished man in Europe” by US President John Adams. His skills at horse-riding and fencing earned the admiration of his peers, but it was his skill as a musician and the first recognized black composer which have preserved his name and reputation.
He taught Queen Marie Antoinette to play the harpsichord, and met Mozart in the court of Versailles, but after the Revolution, fought in the army as the Colonel of the first regiment made entirely from men of African ancestry.