Paul Dresser

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Johann Paul Dreiser Jr better known as Paul Dresser (born April 22, 1857 – died January 31, 1906) was an important American songwriter in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Baptized on May 24, 1857 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Terre Haute, Dresser is most noted for composing what would become the state song of Indiana, a song called "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away". He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, into a strict German-American family. He was an older brother of novelist Theodore Dreiser.

Dresser worked as an actor, playwright, songwriter, producer, and music publisher. He composed more than 100 songs on Tin Pan Alley, in New York City. At the peak of his fame, in the 1890s, he was the most popular songwriter in America. He created his own publishing house in 1901 to produce his works.

Despite his fame, he was financially unwise. He gave much of his money away to friends and family, and when his publishing house failed, he was left destitute. He died penniless at the age of 49 in New York City.

Paul Dresser was portrayed in the biopic, My Gal Sal, by the actor, Victor Mature, and he was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1970.

Many landmarks are named for Dresser in Terre Haute and Vigo County, including the Dresser Memorial Bridge, Dresser Drive and the unplatted community of Dresser, situated on the west bank of the Wabash River. His birthplace is maintained at Henry Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute by the Vigo County Historical Society. Dresser Drive, a street in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Anderson, Indiana, is named for him, as is the Dresser Bridge, which crosses the Wabash River near Attica, IN.

Theodore Dreiser wrote an account of his brother's life in his book Twelve Men, published in 1919. A recent academic study of Dresser's life, "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away: The Life and Music of Paul Dresser," by Clayton W. Henderson, was published by the Indiana Historical Society Press in 2003.