Louis Thomas Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999), also known as Moondog, was an American musician, composer, theoretician, poet and inventor of several musical instruments. From the late 1940s until 1972, Moondog lived as a street musician and poet in New York City, playing in midtown Manhattan. He relocated to Germany in 1974 where he continued to write, compose, and record until his death.