Lanier, Sidney (1842–1881)

US flautist and poet. His Poems (1877) contain interesting metrical experiments, in accordance with the theories expounded in his Science of English Verse (1880), on the relation of verse to music.

Born in Georgia, he served in the Civil War, during which he contracted tuberculosis. He subsequently studied law, which he then abandoned for music, accepting the position of first flautist in the Peabody Orchestra, Baltimore. He wrote poetry and lectured extensively until his early death.