Written by American sisters Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893 when they were school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky.

The verse was originally intended as a classroom greeting entitled "Good Morning To All".

The lyrics were copyrighted in 1935, 11 years before Patty's death, and the ownership has swapped hands in multi-million dollar deals ever since.
The copyright is currently owned by Warner Communications who bought the rights for $28 million in 1985 and is scheduled to expire in 2021.

It was the first song to be performed in outer space, sung by the Apollo IX astronauts on March 8, 1969.