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

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

of the latter 19th century.

Early years

Campbell was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

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 (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

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

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

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 * P ...

''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 of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. 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 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 caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

in September 1886 and died in the State Hospital for the Insane in

Middletown, New York Middletown is the largest Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk ...

on July 30, 1888. He is buried in St. Mary Cemetery in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood.

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