Wagner, Josef Franz 03/20/1856 - 06/05/1908

Josef Franz Wagner (* 20 March 1856 in Vienna; † 5 June 1908 ibid.) was an Austrian military bandmaster and composer.

Josef Franz Wagner was military bandmaster with the infantry regiments No. 47 and No. 49 and leader of a popular private band. Besides his dance compositions, his marches were especially popular. His contemporaries already called him the "Austrian Marching King".

His most famous work is the March Under the Double Eagle (op. 159) from 1893, named after the double eagle in the coat of arms of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today it is the official march of the First Austrian Artillery Regiment. Also popular is the march Tiroler Holzhackerbuab'n, also known as Polka Die lustigen Holzhackerbuam.

Josef Franz Wagner is buried in an honorary dedicated grave in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 35 A, Row G 2, Grave 8).

Source: Wikipedia