Charles Klein

Born in London on January 7, 1867, he moved to the United States in 1883 and first worked as an actor before turning to playwriting. He became known on the New York stage for commercially successful dramas and collaborations that connected him closely to the theater world of his day.

His best-known works include The Lion and the Mouse, The Third Degree, and The Music Master. These plays helped make him one of Broadway's prominent popular playwrights in the years before World War I, with a style that leaned toward strong situations, public conflict, and emotional stakes.

He died on May 7, 1915, in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, cutting short a career that had made him a familiar name in American theater. He is still remembered as part of the generation that shaped Broadway's early modern success.