William Rowley

An English actor and playwright of the Jacobean period, William Rowley was born around 1585 and was buried in London in February 1626. He worked on the stage as well as behind it, and sources describe him as becoming an actor before 1610.

Rowley is remembered especially for collaborating with other dramatists rather than for building a reputation as a solitary literary figure. He is most closely associated with Thomas Middleton, and he also worked with writers including Thomas Dekker, John Ford, and John Webster. Among the plays most often connected with him, The Changeling remains the best known.

That mix of acting and co-writing helps explain why his work still feels tied to the living world of the theater. Even centuries later, he stands out as one of the practical, inventive figures who helped power English drama in the early seventeenth century.