Which conductor began the Boston Pops' annual Fourth of July tradition?

Arthur Fiedler began the Boston Pops' annual Fourth of July concert tradition. He led the Boston Pops from 1930 to 1979 and helped transform it from a Boston-area ensemble into a nationally recognized orchestra.

The modern celebration takes place at the Hatch Memorial Shell on Boston's Charles River Esplanade. The program became especially famous for combining popular orchestral music with fireworks, including Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and John Philip Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever. The event's large crowds made it one of the country's best-known Independence Day celebrations.

A common mix-up is confusing Fiedler with John Williams or Keith Lockhart. Williams succeeded Fiedler as conductor in 1980, while Lockhart became music director in 1995. The spectacular fireworks format was developed during Fiedler's era, with philanthropist David Mugar helping add the large-scale pyrotechnics in 1974. The 1976 bicentennial performance made the tradition famous nationwide.