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Nellie Centennial Cornish (1876 - 1956), was a pianist, teacher, writer, and founder of the Cornish College of the Arts. A native of Blaine, Washington, she grew up as the daughter of the town's first mayor. An accomplished pianist and voice teacher, she taught music in the local high school but as music was considered to be a frill she was not paid. Evidently with some disgust, she moved to Seattle, where she founded her school (originally called Cornish School) in 1914. She went on to serve as the school's director for the next 25 years. Her middle name reflects the year of her birth, the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.
