What do Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Francis Scott Key and Leopold Stokowski have in common?

They are famous musical composers, conductors and collaborators who have appeared on U.S. stamps through the years. In fact, 37 U.S. stamps honoring 36 renowned men of music have been issued since 1940.

The first composers of music appeared on a set in 1940. Those honored were Stephen Foster, John Philip Sousa, Victor Herbert, Ethelbert Nevin and Edward A. MacDowell.

In 1948, poet Francis Scott Key was hailed for writing the words to “The Star Spangled Banner,” the national anthem, with a special 3-cent stamp featuring a likeness of Key flanked by American flags and “bombs bursting in air.”

In 1973, composer George Gershwin received accolades on an 8-cent stamp showing a scene from his folk opera “Porgy and Bess.”

The year 1986 featured a pair of 22-cent stamps in tribute to jazz composer and pianist Duke Ellington who made the jazz scene a popular venue throughout the world.

In 1999, a set of six stamps featured Broadway composers George and Ira Gershwin, Lerner and Loewe, Lorenz Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Meredith Willson and Frank Loesser.

In 2001, multitalented Leonard Bernstein made the USPS hit parade, and in 2002 the honors went to Irving Berlin, famous for, among other things, the second national anthem — “God Bless America.”