Bartley Theodore Campbell (August 12, 1843 – July 30, 1888) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

of the latter 19th century.

Early years

Campbell was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

on August 12, 1843, to parents who had

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His writing career began at the age of 15 in 1858, when he took a job as a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the ''Pittsburgh Post''. He later became a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

for the '' Pittsburgh Leader'', editor of the ''McKeesport Times'', and founder of the ''Pittsburg Evening Mail'' and the ''Southern Monthly Magazine''.

Playwright years

Campbell's playwright career began in 1871 with the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

''Through Fire'', which ran for four weeks and motivated him to quit

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

. He wrote numerous plays for Pittsburgh's theatres which garnered him national attention. He was quite successful and is often noted as the first American to earn a living solely as a playwright; however, there is some debate about whether or not he was truly the first. His other plays include ''Peril; or, Love at Long Branch'' (1872); ''Fate'' (1873); ''Risks; or, Insure Your Life'', written for

John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition Dillon was an a ...

(1873); ''The Virginian'' (1874); ''The Big Bonanza''; ''My Partner'' (1879), ''The Galley Slave'' (1879); ''The White Slave'' (1882); ''Siberia'' (1882); and his final play, ''Paquita'' (1885).

Final years

Campbell's health deteriorated under the strain of financial difficulties associated with his efforts to act as author, producer and director of his plays. He was declared

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

in September 1886, and died in the State Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, New York on July 30, 1888. He is buried in St. Mary Cemetery in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. Although his works contain language and situations that would be considered

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

today, theatre troupes performing his plays can still be found over a century later.

Sources

''A history of the New York stage, Volume 2'' By Thomas Allston Brown

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Bartley Writers from Pittsburgh 1843 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights