Dunlap, William (1766-1839), has been called the father of American drama. He was the first professional playwright in America, the first to produce his own plays, and the first to champion the cause of the native dramatist. He was also the first to adapt plays from the French and German, and his History of the American Theatre (1832) is the earliest account of the American stage. Of the 56 plays attributed to him, 27 are originals and 29 translations or adaptations. Dunlap’s best-known original plays include Andre (1798), Leicester (1806), and A Trip to Niagara (1828).
Dunlap also wrote biographies and a valuable source book, History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States (1834). He was also a successful painter. Dunlap was born on Feb. 19, 1766, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He died on Sept. 28, 1839.
