Bronson Crocker Howard (October 7, 1842 – August 4, 1908) was an American dramatist.

Biography

Howard was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

where his father Charles Howard was Mayor in 1849. He prepared for college at New Haven, Conn., but instead of entering

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

he turned to Journalism in New York City. From 1867 to 1872 he worked on several newspapers, among them the ''Evening Mail'' and the ''Tribune''. As early as 1864 he had written a dramatic piece (''Fantine'') which was played in

. His first important play was '' Saratoga'', produced by

Augustin Daly John Augustin Daly (July 20, 1838 – June 7, 1899) was one of the most influential men in American theatre during his lifetime. Drama critic, theatre manager, playwright, and adapter, he became the first recognized stage director in America. He ...

in 1870. It was very successful and became the first of a long series of pieces which gave Howard a leading position among American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

s. He married a sister of Sir Charles Wyndham, the English actor, and he had homes in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

and London, England where some of his plays were no less popular than in America. Bronson Howard was a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. The English newspaper ''The Yorkshire Evening Post'' reported in 1894:

Mr Bronson Howard, the American playwright, calls the first stage of his work, "the smoking stage." He smokes for weeks, even months, only making notes.

He died, aged 65, in

Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Avon-by-the-Sea (often called simply Avon; pronunciation: , ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was ...

, where he had gone to regain his strength.

Works

Among his other best-known plays are: * ''The Banker's Daughter'' (1878) * ''Old Love Letters'' (1878) * '' Young Mrs. Winthrop'' (1882) * ''One of our Girls'' (1885) * ''The Henrietta'' (1887; revived in 1913 as ''The New Henrietta'') * '' Shenandoah'' (1889) * ''Aristocracy'' (1892) In 1899 he collaborated with

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

in ''Peter Stuyvesant''. *'' The Social Pirates'', series of stories adapted into a film series

References

Literature

* Moses, M.J. (1911)
''The American Dramatist''
Boston: Little, Brown & Company.

External links

Bronson Howard papers, 1852-1895
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

* *
Bronson Howard portraits
New York Public Library, Billy Rose collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Bronson Writers from Detroit People from Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Writers from New Rochelle, New York American fantasy writers 1842 births 1908 deaths American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Michigan Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters