Matthews, Brander

Matthews, Brander
(1852-1929)
   Born in New Orleans, the son of wealthy parents, James Brander Matthews moved to New York and attended Columbia University. He began law school in 1871, but when his family's fortunes collapsed, he took a job writing for The Nation (1875-1895). Matthews also completed several plays, including Margery's Lovers (1878), A GoldMine (1889), and On Probation (1889). He had a deep interest in French literature and theatre, and this led to a position teaching literature at Columbia in 1891.
   In 1902, Matthews became the first American academic to be a professor of dramatic literature. He did much to elevate theatre as an academic discipline, stressing that plays were not simply literature, but must be studied in light of performance issues. He continued at Columbia until his retirement in 1924. Among his two dozen books are The French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century (1882), Actors and Actresses of Great Britain and the United States (1886; a five-volume work coauthored with Laurence Hutton), Development of the Drama (1903), Principles of Playmaking (1919), and two autobiographies, These Many Years (1917) and Rip Van Winkle Goes to the Play (1926).

The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. .

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  • Matthews, Brander — ▪ American writer born Feb. 21, 1852, New Orleans died March 31, 1929, New York City       essayist, drama critic, novelist, and first U.S. professor of dramatic literature.       Educated at Columbia University, Matthews was admitted to the bar… …   Universalium

  • Matthews —   [ mæθjuːz],    1) James Brander, amerikanischer Schriftsteller und Theaterwissenschaftler, * New Orleans (La.) 21. 2. 1852, ✝ New York 31. 3. 1929; schrieb Theaterstücke, Essays zum Theater und Theaterkritiken u. a. für die »New York Times«. Er …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Matthews — (spr. mäthjuhs), Brander, amerik. Schriftsteller unter dem Pseudonym Arthur Penn, geb. 21. Febr. 1852 in Neuorleans, seit 1892 Literaturprofessor an der Columbia Universität in Neuyork; schrieb Dramen (»Margery s lovers« etc.), Novellen (»The… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Brander Matthews — Infobox Writer name = James Brander Matthews imagesize = caption = Matthews in middle age pseudonym = birthname = birthdate = Birth date|1852|2|21 birthplace = New Orleans, USA death date = Death date|1929|3|31 deathplace = New York City, USA… …   Wikipedia

  • Matthews (surname) — This page lists notable people with the surname (that is, family name) Matthews. For a list of notable people with the surname Matthew (without s), see Matthew (surname). For a list of notable people with the surname Mathews (with only one t ),… …   Wikipedia

  • Matthews — biographical name (James) Brander 1852 1929 American educator & author …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Matthews — /math yoohz/, n. 1. (James) Brander /bran deuhr/, 1852 1929, U.S. writer and educator. 2. Sir Stanley, born 1915, British soccer player. * * * …   Universalium

  • Matthews — /math yoohz/, n. 1. (James) Brander /bran deuhr/, 1852 1929, U.S. writer and educator. 2. Sir Stanley, born 1915, British soccer player …   Useful english dictionary

  • Matthews, James Brander —    Litt.D., D.C.L., etc. (b. 1852)    American critic, etc. French Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century, Introduction to the Study of American Literature, Aspects of Fiction, His Father s Son, etc …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • James Matthews — may refer to:*Brander Matthews an American writer *Jim Matthews a US Politician *James Tilly Matthews a British merchant *James M. Matthews an American academic *Jimmy Matthews (1884 1943), Australian cricketer *James Matthews (1876 1963), an… …   Wikipedia

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