John Milton Cage, Jr. usually known as just John Cage, (September 5, 1912 - August 12, 1992) was an American composer, writer, philosopher, and visual artist. He was one of the first composers (or "musicians") to introduce different styles of music to popular culture. He made mostly avant-garde music and electronic music, and was very well known for making the piece 4'33", which challenged what music is. He also wrote music for pianos that had been "prepared" by having screws and nails placed in them. He was gay. His life partner from 1943 until his death was choreographer Merce Cunningham (1919-2009). Cage died of a stroke in New York City.