Playwright, Artist, Historian

Pioneer Dramatist.

Often considered the father of American theater, William Dunlap was a theater manager and the first American professional playwright, dominating the American stage at the end of the eighteenth century with patriotic plays on American subjects. He was also a talented painter and historian, and he dabbled in novel writing.

Early Life.

Dunlap was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of a retired British officer. His father remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution, and in 1777, as a Loyalist refugee, he moved the family to British-occupied New York. In 1784 Dunlap traveled to England planning to study under painter Benjamin West. Once there, however, Dunlap never enrolled at West's academy and dissipated much of his time on frivolous amusements. As a result, his father demanded that his son return to the United States in 1787. When he reached home...