Kate Horn (1826–1896) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

stage actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and

theater director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

. She was a popular

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and was the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the

Theatre Royal, Montréal The Theatre Royal in Montréal in Canada, also known as the Molson Theatre was the first public theatre in Canada. It was inaugurated in 1825, was given a new building in 1851, and closed in 1930. History The Theatre Royal played in important ...

from 1873 to 1880.Mireille Barrière, "HORN, KATE M," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed August 16, 2017, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/horn_kate_m_12E.html.

Early life

Kate Horn was an orphan born in

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 ...

. Ate age 16, she emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

She made her debut on the stage in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

under the patronage of actress Sarah H. Timm in 1842. From 1845 until 1852, she was engaged at the Park Theatre in New York, where she had a successful career, performed with stars such as George Clifford Jordan, Annie Walters, Charlotte Saunders Cushman,

Edward Loomis Davenport Edward Loomis Davenport (1816September 1, 1877) was an American actor. Life and career Born in Boston, he made his first appearance on the stage in Providence, Rhode Island in support of Junius Brutus Booth. Afterwards he went to England, where ...

and

William Pleater Davidge William Pleater Davidge (17 April 1814 – 7 August 1888) was an English comedian, who came to the United States in 1850 and became identified with the American Stage. Biography He was born in London, and appeared as a youthful amateur at Drury ...

, and was called “one of the most beautiful women on the stage”. Horn made her

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

stage debut on July 14, 1852, playing Mrs. Ormsby Delmaine '' The Serious Family''. From 1852 to 1864, she divided her time between regular tours to the

in Canada, where her spouse John Buckland was the manager of the Theatre Royal, and New York, where she was engaged in several different companies. In 1864, she settled permanently in Montréal, where she was one of the star actors of the Theatre Royal and a respected member of the fashionable society in Montreal. When her husband died in 1872, she succeeded him as manager of the theatre. She retired from both management and acting in 1880, but continued to be active in the theatrical life of the city.

Personal life

Horn married English-born John Buckland in the Spring of 1852 becoming Kate Buckland. The two settled permanently in Montreal in 1864. John predeceased Horn in November 1872; he was 57. Horn lived on Dorchester Street. She fell ill in 1896 and died at Home Hospital. She was buried at St. Patrick's Church in Montreal.

References

1826 births 1896 deaths 19th-century Canadian actresses Canadian theatre directors 19th-century American actresses American stage actresses Theatre managers and producers 19th-century theatre managers 19th-century businesswomen {{Canada-stage-actor-stub Irish emigrants to Canada (before 1923)