Who built the first piano in the United States?
It was probably John Behrent, who lived in Philadelphia. Early in 1775, he advertised for sale an "extraordinary instrument by the name of pianoforte, in mahogany in the manner of the harpsichord." This instrument, currently preserved in the Smithsonian, is rectangular, has only 54 keys, and resembles a German clavichord. It appears to have had a long and useful life.
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