author
John Brougham
1810–1880
A lively Irish-born actor and playwright, he became one of the busiest men on the 19th-century American stage, known for comic roles and a huge output of popular plays. His career stretched from London to New York, where he also worked as a theatre manager and humorist.
2 Audiobooks
The Bunsby Papers (second series): Irish Echoes
by John Brougham
Jane Eyre : a drama in five acts
by John Brougham, Charlotte Brontë
About the author
Born in Dublin, John Brougham was trained for medicine and studied at Trinity College, but the theatre pulled him in a different direction. He made his stage debut in London in 1830 and later built most of his career in the United States, where he became especially well known for playing comic Irish characters.
Brougham was far more than an actor. He wrote or adapted dozens of plays—Britannica says more than 75—and also worked as a poet, essayist, and theatre manager. His writing helped make him a familiar and popular figure in 19th-century entertainment, with a gift for humor and a quick, theatrical style that suited the stage of his day.
He died in New York on June 7, 1880. Even though some reference works disagree about whether he was born in 1810 or 1814, they agree on the broad shape of his life: an Irish-born performer who became a major presence in American theatre.