American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas (April 3, 1859 – January 16, 1920).

De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, but moved with his parents to England in 1870, where he received the majority of his education. After graduating from St. John's College, Oxford, with the highest honors in 1879, De Koven moved throughout Europe studying music with the best instructors of his day, including piano in Stuttgart with Dionys Pruckner, counterpoint with Johann Christian Hauff in Frankfurt, singing in Florence with Luigi Vannucini, and light opera composition with and in Vienna and in Paris.

In 1882, De Koven returned the United States, but wouldn't compose for another 6 years. Instead, he worked first as a broker in Chicago, then ran a successful dry-goods store. In 1888, now financially well off, he wrote his first opera, "The Begum," with a libretto by . The following year, he again teamed up with Smith to compose the opera "Don Quixote." Between 1887 and 1913, de Koven created 20 light operas, including "Robin Hood," "The Knickerbockers," "The Algerian," "The Fencing Master," and "Rob Roy." "Robin Hood" (1891) made the greatest impact, both being performed and recorded well into the 1960s; the song "Oh, Promise Me" from "Robin Hood" is still a wedding standard.

Between the years 1890 and 1920, De Koven introduced over 450 popular songs through his operas and operettas. From 1902 to 1904, de Koven conducted the Washington, D.C. symphony. He also served as a music critic for Chicago’s Evening Post, Harper’s Weekly and the New York World. Reginald De Koven died in Chicago, Illinois, on January 16, 1920.