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Dryden, John

(Encyclopedia)Dryden, John, 1631–1700, English poet, dramatist, and critic, b. Northamptonshire, grad. Cambridge, 1654. He went to London about 1657 and first came to public notice with his Heroic Stanzas (1659),...

Congreve, William

(Encyclopedia)Congreve, William, 1670–1729, English dramatist, b. near Leeds, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and studied law in the Middle Temple. After publishing a novel of intrigue, Incognita (1692), and...

Dunlap, William

(Encyclopedia)Dunlap, William dŭnˈlăp [key], 1766–1839, American dramatist and theatrical manager, b. Perth Amboy, N.J. Inspired by the success of The Contrast by Royall Tyler, he began to write plays for the ...

Robertson, Thomas William

(Encyclopedia)Robertson, Thomas William, 1829–71, English dramatist and actor; brother of Madge Kendal. After spending several years as an actor, he turned to playwriting, initiating the “cup and saucer” scho...

Betterton, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Betterton, Thomas bĕtˈərtən [key], 1635?–1710, English actor and manager. He joined Sir William D'Avenant's company at Lincoln's Inn Fields theater in 1661 and became the leading actor of the Re...

Whitehead, William

(Encyclopedia)Whitehead, William, 1715–85, English poet and playwright. He wrote several plays based on ancient Greek models, including Creusa, Queen of Athens (1754). Whitehead was appointed poet laureate in 175...

Kyd, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Kyd or Kid, Thomas, 1558–94, English dramatist, b. London. The son of a scrivener, he evidently followed his father's profession for a few years. In the 1580s he began writing plays. His literary fa...

Houghton, William Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Houghton, William Stanley, 1881–1913, English dramatist. He was (1907–12) a critic for the Manchester Guardian. His plays, greatly influenced by Ibsen, include The Dear Departed (1908), The Younge...

Strachey, William

(Encyclopedia)Strachey, William, 1572–1621, English colonial historian; educated at Cambridge. In 1609 he sailed to Virginia with Sir Thomas Gates. A storm wrecked his ship in the Bermudas, and the party remained...

Staunton, Howard

(Encyclopedia)Staunton, Howard, 1810–74, English chess player, writer, and editor, b. Westmoreland. Settling (1836) in London, he edited (1841–54) England's first major chess magazine and wrote (1845–74) a ch...