Bart Howard (born Howard Joseph Gustafson, June 1, 1915 – February 21, 2004) was an American composer and songwriter, most notably of the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon", which has been performed by Kaye Ballard, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Della Reese, Bobby Womack, Diana Krall, Paul Anka, June Christy, Brenda Lee, Astrud Gilberto, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Sia and RAYE and Super Tough among others.
He began his career as an accompanist at the age of 16 and played for Mabel Mercer, Johnny Mathis and Eartha Kitt, among others.
"Fly Me to the Moon" was first sung in 1954 by Felicia Sanders at the Blue Angel nightclub in Manhattan, where the composer became M.C.
The song received wide exposure when Peggy Lee sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show several years later.
He was survived by his partner of 58 years, Thomas Fowler and a sister Dorothy Lind of Burlington, Iowa.