Nora Holt, originally named Lena or Lora Douglas, was born in Kansas City, Kansas, around 1884 or 1885 to Calvin Douglas, an AME Church minister, and Gracie Brown Douglas. Her early exposure to piano lessons sparked her passion for music, and she played the organ at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church. She excelled academically, graduating as valedictorian from Western University in 1917 and becoming the first African-American to earn a master's degree in music composition at the Chicago Musical College in 1918. Nora furthered her musical education in France and contributed music criticism to the Chicago Defender. In her career, Holt co-founded the National Association of Negro Musicians and published the magazine "Music and Poetry." She composed numerous orchestral and chamber works, though most were lost while traveling abroad. Later, she became an editor and music critic at the Amsterdam News and hosted radio programs such as "American Negro Artists" and "Nora Holt's Concert Showcase." She received recognition, including membership in the Music Critics Circle of New York. Nora Holt had a complex personal life, marrying five times and adopting the name "Nora" in her fourth marriage to George Holt. She lived a lavish lifestyle in the 1920s, associating with Harlem Renaissance figures like Langston Hughes. Nora Holt passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 89 on January 25, 1974.